


Spinning World

by RyneC



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, Friendship, No Bending, Organized Crime, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 03:41:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7027054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyneC/pseuds/RyneC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami has hit a low point in her life, struggling through every day. Meanwhile officer Korra is trying to catch the members of a feared criminal organization: The Agni Kai. One day they cross paths and soon realise how entangled their lives actually are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Small World

**Author's Note:**

> First things first: I don’t own The Legend of Korra.  
> Second: this is my first story on AO3, so I'm very curious about how it will turn out. Hopefully you can enjoy it :)

She was hyperventilating. She knew she was. Short powerful gasps of air left her mouth and it went foggy before her eyes. The irony was that she was rushing out of the hospital instead of in. With two hands she pushed open one of the backdoors, found a small bench and dropped down. She bent over, staring at her lap while forcing herself to slowly breath in and out.

“Do you need some water?” Someone asked out of the blue. Korra shot up and looked beside her. Next to her a woman was smoking a cigarette. Her green eyes looked worried as Korra felt her gaze gliding over her.

“T… the… ciga… rette.” Korra pointed to the offending thing. She didn’t mind smokers, but the smell made breathing even harder. With a blank stare the woman looked at her hand and back at Korra.

“Oh, right! Shit. Sorry!” She apologized in sudden realisation as she pushed out the cigarette and threw it in the bin.

“No.. D-don’t… apologize…” Korra waved away any sense of guilt. She turned her head back into her lap, continuing her meditative breathing pattern. After a while the small gasps had turned into calm breathing and Korra felt she could sit up straight again. When she unfolded her body, the woman was still sitting next to her, still staring at her in worry.

“I’m fine. A small panic attack.” Korra explained with an awkward feeling. What would the woman think of her? Stumbling out here, wheezing and demanding of her to put her cigarette out.

“The water offer still stands, if you want to.” The woman smiled. Her lips were painted red and they stood out nicely on her pale skin. Long black hair slightly covered her face, but those green eyes kept peering out, strong and sharp as if they were challenging the world.

“No, thanks. I-I’m okay.” Korra mumbled, suddenly very self-conscious.

“I don’t like hospitals as well. Smoking sometimes helps me with the stress.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“It’s a nasty habit.” The woman replied staring off into the distance. Korra felt bad for making her feel guilty. _Ugh, why do you always have to be so bossy!_

“So… do you work here?” Korra decided to change the subject.

“Uhm, no.”

“Oh, I hope you’re not sick then.”

The woman smiled at her, sensing the social uneasiness Korra was experiencing. “Someone I know lays in the hospital.” She revealed.

“I’m sorry, is it serious?”

“The situation is stable.”

“Good. That’s good to hear.”

“What about you?” Now the woman fully turned towards Korra.

“Oh, I don’t work here either.” Korra blurted out.

“I can see that.” The woman pointed towards her and Korra looked down on herself. _Of course, she can!_ Korra slapped herself mentally as she saw the navy blue police outfit she was wearing.

“I’m just having the worst day of my life.” Korra casually replied, but it apparently did not sound funny to the woman as her frown deepened. “I got my ex-boyfriend shot when we tried to arrest a suspect.” Korra continued. Something about the woman's inquisitive gaze made her want to confess everything.

“That does sound bad.” The woman answered with an honest gasp. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he is! Bullet grazed his arm, nothing serious. Well, I did get him shot, so serious enough, but not life threating.” Korra felt like a fool.

“Oh, that’s a relieve then.” The woman slumped back, happy that she didn’t have to console a stranger over a fatal accident. Nonchalantly she glanced at her watch. “Oh, two o’clock already. I have to leave. Good luck with your ex.” The woman stood, grabbed her bag which she slung over her shoulder.

“Okay, bye. I’m Korra by the way. Korra Kaito.” Korra said as she automatically stood up as well and pushed her hand forward. The woman was taken aback by this sudden gesture, but eventually grabbed Korra's hand. She stared a little longer at Korra, as if she was puzzling something together. After an intense long second she smiled again, albeit a little forced.

“My name is Asami. Nice to meet you, although it could have been under better circumstances.” Asami said more business-like then before.

“Uhm, yeah. You could say that. Well goodbye Asami.”

“Goodbye officer Kaito.” Korra watched as Asami disappeared behind the doors. With a sigh she let herself sink back down on the bench. _What a day!_

 

* * *

 

After she had slammed the door shut, Asami took a moment to sit back in the front seat of her car. She ran a hand through her hair and started to chuckle at herself. She grabbed her phone and fast dialled her friend and colleague.

“Hi you, how was it?” A voice filled the car as Asami put her phone into the hands-free so she could take off.

“It was… sad. As to be expected.” Asami sighed as she clicked her safety belt into place.

“I’m sorry.”

“How was the meeting? Are the deals coming through?” Asami changed the subject.

“They’re still talking, but it looks good. It’s almost as if they are desperate to change companies.” Her friend took a breath. “How is Future Industries doing?” Asami raised her eyebrows.

“Good I suppose. Why?”

“Well, companies are looking for new developers. There are a lot of contracts in the air. I wondered if Future Industries has trouble with keeping their clients.”

“Are our clients staying?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess we should just ride the wave.” Asami smiled for the first time that day. She took a sharp turn and sped up. There wasn’t a lot of traffic and feeling the power humming underneath her made every ticket she might receive worth it.

“I guess we have to. I see you in a minute.”

“Zhu, how small do you think the world is?” Asami asked before Zhu Li could hang up.

“Well, the earth has a mean radius of 39588 miles.” Zhu Li deadpanned. Asami laughed, making a mental image of the puzzlement on her friend’s face. Zhu Li was a scientist, not a poet.

“I see you in a minute.” Asami said as she hung up, so she could really appreciate the sounds of her engine.

 

* * *

 

 

“Korra, there you are!” Korra looked up from the coffee machine, seeing Bolin running towards her.

“Hi Bolin, good to see you.” She greeted her friend.

“Yeah, I came as quick as I heard.” Korra bit her lip, knowing it was all her fault. “Hey, don’t worry. He’s okay and he seems pretty happy with the attention he gets from the nurses.” Bolin laughed as he saw guilt wash over Korra’s face.

“I bet he is.” Korra rolled her eyes and took the plastic cup.

“He said you almost fainted when they cut off his sleeve.” Bolin informed.

“I don’t know. The blood and the rushing…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Bolin smiled, laying his arm across Korra’s shoulders as they walked back to Mako’s room. Korra knew that it could have been way worse. She felt bad for Mako and she also knew that Iroh, their team leader, and Chief Beifong wouldn’t be happy. What was worse though was the unmentioned fear that was stuck inside her bones. It always lingered around her and today she had looked it right in the eyes.

“Korra! Bolin!” Mako greeted them as they came into view. Mako sat in a wheelchair, his right arm was wrapped in bandage and he had a sheepish grin on his face. _Probably the painkillers._ Korra thought as she saw the uncharacteristic smile.

“Hi bro, ready to go home?” Bolin asked as he took place behind the wheelchair.

“Never been more ready.” Mako hummed. Korra shared a worried look with Bolin, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Did the doctors say anything else? About check-ups, drinking fluids, taking a break from work?” Korra asked as she walked beside Mako.

“Nope or maybe. Iroh said he would do the paper work on this baby.” Mako patted his arm.

“Jeez, those painkillers really did a number on you.” Korra mumbled.

“What? No! I feel great!” Mako sunk a bit deeper into the chair as they left the hospital. Korra opened the door of Bolin’s car and helped Mako in. When he was safely tucked away on the back seat Korra joined him on the other side while Bolin was bringing the wheelchair back inside.

“I’m sorry Mako. I should have had you’re back.” Korra apologized.

“Pffff! Don’t worry. With a bit of luck I get a kickass scar out of it.” Mako slurred his words a little as he lulled to the side.

“Wow there buddie. I think you need to stay awake, at least until we get home.” Korra said, pushing him gently up again.

“Yes, home.” Mako gave her another dreamy smile as he snuggled up to Korra’s side. _This day is out of control…_ Korra thought as she let Mako lean on her to doze off.

 

* * *

 

 

Asami threw her bag and coat in the general direction of the coat rack. She strode over to her desk and took her place behind it. Her office was quiet. Things were aligning in her head as she sat there, doing nothing. 

With a disappointed grunt she opened the drawer of her desk and took a small bottle out. She poured some of the amber liquid in a coffee mug that looked pretty clean. She knew she had overstepped a line when she made this her ritual every time she came to work, but she didn’t care. It felt as if the universe was turning its back on her, so why shouldn’t she do the same?

She threw the bottle back into the drawer and took a sip from the mug. She turned her chair to the side so she could stretch out her legs. _You got this Asami._ She thought.

“Asami! Back on the grind I see!” Asami almost threw her mug up in the air when her boss’s voice boomed through the room.

“Varrick, hello. I didn’t notice you there.” She mumbled as she turned forward again.

“Ha! I like my employees lost in their inspirational thoughts.” Varrick practically cheered as he took a seat across from Asami. “So these are the new drawings?” He asked, picking up some papers from Asami’s desk.

“Yes, rough sketches. I haven’t finished anything yet. I thought about spending the rest of the day in the garage, to oversee the production of the prototype.” Asami said, taking another sip. She didn’t care if Varrick noticed the strange liquid in her cup or if he smelled the alcohol. They both had stressful jobs and Asami was sure she wasn’t the only one needing some release during working hours.

“Looks nice! Slick!” Varrick tapped the papers with the new design of the sports car they were developing. “Now I know you have plenty of ideas, but what do you think of mixing things up a bit? Leave the cars for what they are and explore new areas?” Asami frowned. She liked cars, but lately it bored her. When she had finished her full electric engine which earned her a promotion and some fame, she didn’t feel challenged anymore. She was just drawing fancy cars, waiting for a new project to arrive. God knew she needed something to distract her. But if Varrick talked about new areas, you never knew what you were going to get.

“Sure, what have you got for me.” Asami said with caution. Varrick held up his index finger, gesturing for Asami to wait, not that she was going anywhere. With his other hand he leaned down and grabbed a pile of files from his bag. With a broad smile he slammed the pile on Asami’s desk.

“We have new potential clients. Rich people who want their ideas to become reality.” Varrick explained as Asami turned the pile towards herself. She leafed through them, her frown deepening.

“Wait, what? This person wants a helicopter that looks like a hummingbird.” Asami said in disbelieve.

“Haha! I know! And there is this dame that wants a robot suit with grabby hands!” Varrick laughed. “The point however is that they are the richest people in Republic City and they can afford the development of all their crazy ideas.”

“I don’t know if this is the kind of clientele we want. I mean you’re the CEO, but… This looks compiled by fourth graders.” Asami complained, looking back at Varrick.

“I just need you to pick out the best ones. Ideas that inspire you. Give you the spark of creation! Who knows what great things are coming from this.”

“But…”

“I need a top three on my desk tomorrow morning with elaborated blueprints. Nothing to detailed, just show me how you are going to make it work!” Varrick jumped up from his chair, grabbed his bag and waved at Asami as he left her office.

Asami grunted again. Typically Varrick, pretending that something was just low key and not important and then demanding an impossible task. She wasn’t going to be able to leave the office anytime soon. It didn’t matter how informal and loose Varrick was around his employees, he would still fire you if you didn’t measure up to his expectations and a job change was something Asami couldn’t use right now.

With an angry pull she opened the drawer again and poured herself a double drink. If she was working over night she at least could make it more comfortable for herself.

 

* * *

 

 

Korra nervously tapped her foot on the ground. She watched as Chief Beifong walked over to the window and stared out of it with her back towards her visitors. Her hands were clasped behind her. Iroh did nothing to interrupt the deafening silence and Korra knew it wasn’t her place to do it.

Korra felt a hand on her knee. She looked down and saw it was Iroh’s. He didn’t look at her, he kept staring at the back of the Chief, but the hand said that Korra needed to stop tapping her foot. With a soft sigh Korra calmed herself down and sat still as Iroh retreated his hand.

“So…” Lin spoke ominous when she turned and walked away from the window. Instead of taking the chair she leaned against her desk, forcing Iroh and Korra to look up at her. Her expression was hard to read, as usual. She could be angry or sad or whatever emotion you could come up with.

“How is officer Yaken?” She asked as she crossed her arms.

“He’s doing okay. The bullet graced his arm resulting in a flesh wound. It got stitched up and he needs to rest his arm for a while. Korra took him home yesterday.” Iroh informed the chief.

“Good, I will send him a card.” Lin said. “We all know that this can’t happen again.”

“I know. I should have called for back-up and I would have if I knew our suspect was armed. We just went around his house for questioning.” Iroh continued. Korra looked away in embarrassment. Iroh was taking the blame for her mistake. 

“Do we have proof that he is connected to the Agni Kai?” Li continued her questioning.

“Not proof, but enough reasons. I will send our dossiers over to you. I know how precarious this case is and we want to finish what we started.” Lin nodded at Iroh’s confident words, but Korra could see a flicker of doubt.

“I need to strengthen your team. This blunder was picked up by the media and I don’t need another shooting. So I assigned Opal Beifong to the case as well.” Lin said.

“Your niece.” Korra spoke without thinking.

“Yes, my niece.” Lin threw Korra a devastating glare. Korra cleared her throat, not knowing why she said that. Everybody knew Opal was Lin’s niece. Korra had never met her, but heard the stories. She was the best student of her classes in the police academy and now she was rushing towards a shining career as a detective. She had helped catching one of the largest drug dealer gangs in the city. Everyone said that she would become Chief after Lin would retire, just like Lin took the position form her mother. Most were agitated by this. It had an unfair ring to it. The police department shouldn’t be a family business, but there was no denying  Opal’s talents or Lin’s or Toph’s talents before that.

“I am looking forward to meeting her.” Iroh salvaged Korra’s outburst.

“Good, keep me updated. Now that this case has the attention of the media, I want to know every small step you take.”

“Yes ma’am.” Iroh bowed and Korra followed his example, realising this meeting was over. Without another word they left Lin’s office.

“Phew, that could have been worse.” Korra mumbled as they walked towards their own office.

“Yes, it could have been. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off.” Iroh said.

“What!? Why?”

“You had quite the day yesterday.” Iroh sighed and stopped to look Korra in the eyes. He wasn’t angry at her, but he also knew that Korra needed to get her mind sorted out. “Listen, jus visit Mako and watch a movie or something. Today I will bring Opal up to speed and then you can come in tomorrow all rested and fresh.”

Iroh was a good man, as good as they come. He was polite, calm and professional. Korra trusted his judgement and didn’t feel like going against it.

“Alright…” Korra reluctantly agreed.

“Good, see you tomorrow morning and say hi to Mako from me.” Iroh said as he continued his way through the hall.

With an heavy feeling, Korra walked towards the exit. There was a time when she was the promising new cadet, she even fulfilled that promise, but at what cost? Now she just felt like damaged goods. She needed to make way for the new promises, like Opal Beifong.

 

* * *

 

 

Varrick looked through the thick rapport Asami had produced last night. He nodded now and then and mumbled nothings into the air. Zhu Li was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder.

“Fantastic! What’s your favourite one?” Varrick yelled out. Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. The raw sketches she had made for these ludicrous ideas were all blending into one and she tried to pick the least terrible idea.

“Hummingbird suit. It’s somewhat doable, although totally unnecessary.” Asami said, knowing that Varrick wouldn’t pick up on her sarcasm. He had an amazing knack for hearing what he wanted to hear.

“Great!” Varrick took the part of the report that contained the Hummingbird and threw the rest into the bin. The loud thud made Asami want to cry. She could have known that he wouldn’t even serious read through all of it.

“Zhu Li set up a meeting between Asami and…” Varrick peeked into the papers. “Mister Wu Prince.”

“What? I have to meet him? Why?” Asami asked. She thought this little stunt was just a way to peak her interest again, since she had been sulking around the office for a couple of weeks. Now it sounded like Varrick really wanted to invest in a helicopter that looked like a hummingbird.

“You are going to develop this thing and put Varrick Global Industries back into the eye of the public. I want you to charm this Wu. Show the world how concerned we are about our clients. How much input our clients get. We are a people organization!” Asami threw a panicked look at Zhu Li, begging for a rescue.

“We will set up a meeting.” Was all Zhu Li had to offer as she led Asami out of the office.

“What the hell!? We will set up a meeting!? You know how stupid this idea is, right?” Asami threw her hands up in frustration when they were far away enough from Varrick’s office to be heard. Zhu Li laughed. Usually Asami had her emotions in check, but after pulling an all-nighter her filter was off and it was always a delight to hear what was really going on in the engineer’s mind.

“I know, but Varrick is looking for a new image. He wants something redundant and stupid to show the world that nothing is crazy enough for him. His new motto is something along the lines of: ‘If you can think it, we can make it’.” Asami cringed at the words. She was of the opinion that not everything someone came up with should be made. Like a hummingbird helicopter. There was nothing wrong with normal helicopters.

“Oh, come on. Brighten up! Maybe this Wu Prince isn’t so bad. I heard that there is real royalty in his bloodline.” Zhu Li patted Asami on the shoulder.

“Not so bad? You know he had sent in two ideas. One was the hummingbird and the other just said badger mole. I mean badger mole! What is that? Is he steering us towards questionable genetic engineering!?” This time Zhu Li let out a loud laugh.

“I’m so happy I don’t have your job.” She said, smiling at the despair on Asami’s face. “Listen, take the day off. Freshen up a bit, do some yoga, whatever it is you need to do to get yourself together. I will make the arrangements with Wu Prince and keep Varrick off your back. Deal?” Zhu Li asked.

“Okay deal.” Asami sighed.

“Just see this as a side-project. A fun way of exploring new horizons.” Asami rolled her eyes at Zhu Li’s cheesy comment.

“Some horizons were made not to be explored.”

 

* * *

 

 

A bell rang when Korra entered the diner. She had never been here before, but it was close to Bolin’s and Mako’s apartment. She needed a cup of coffee and maybe a piece of pie before she would meet the brothers. Something to cheer her up, since the meeting from this morning still left her feeling blue. She knew being sent away for one day wasn’t a big deal, but it was the first crack in her career.

“Good morning, take a seat and I will be with you in a moment.” The girl behind the counter greeted. Korra nodded and made her way down the aisle between the tables and chairs, until she spotted a familiar face.

“Hi there. Asami right?” Korra greeted the black haired woman who was reading a paper in full concentration. She looked up when she heard her name. Confusion crossed her face, but after that a light smile tucked at her lips.

“Officer Kaito. What a coincidence.” She said.

“Yeah, meeting twice in a row.”

“And I was just reading about you.” Asami lowered the paper. Korra had to turn her head a little to read the headline. _Shooting in family neighbourhood, one cop down._

“Ugh, I wish you hadn’t.” Korra hated the sensation hungry media. They were always twisting the story, making it exciting like a crime novel. “Mind if join you?” Korra asked. Asami shook her head, folding her paper. Korra took place opposite of her. She noticed a big plate in front of Asami with two slices of bread , two eggs sunny side up and some strips of bacon. Only a small corner of one of the toasts was cut off, while the rest laid untouched.

“Not going to eat that?” Korra asked in surprise.

“Nah, I just wanted a taste.” If the woman opposite of her made a mysterious impression on Korra at the hospital, this situation didn’t improve the case. Somehow Korra still felt drawn in by her, as if Asami was a puzzle she wanted to solve.

“What can I get you?” The waitress asked, smiling down upon Korra.

“Oh, uhm, a cup of coffee and… what kind of pies do you have?”

“Cherry pie, pecan pie, apple pie..”

“One pecan pie.” The waitress nodded.

“Can I get a glass of water and another cup of coffee?” Asami asked.

 “Of course.” The waitress answered with a smile and disappeared again. Asami crossed her arms, leaning her elbows on the table. She looked at Korra as if she was taking in a foreign animal.

“So how are you? How’s your friend?” She asked.

“He’s fine. I was on my way to visit him, but I needed some caffeine first.” Asami nodded and sat back, apparently happy with Korra’s answer. “How are you? You look terrible.” Korra continued. Before she realised how her statement sounded, the woman across from her started to laugh.

“Are you always this charming to strangers?” Asami asked. She didn’t mind that Korra had said that she looked terrible. She knew it was probably the truth.

“I.. uhmm… I’m sorry! I meant to say that you look tired, not terrible! You look nice, just terribly tired.” Korra sputtered, trying to make it right.

“I am tired, so you have a keen eye.” Asami smirked. “I had to pull an all-nighter at my office. I can’t decide whether this was breakfast or diner.”

“Wow, all the night? Your job must be important. What do you do?” Korra asked, surprised at how Asami still functioned without sleep. Korra barely kept it together if she didn’t get her seven hours of rest.

“I’m an engineer and not a bad one at that.”

“And humble one from the sound of it.” Korra laughed when she saw the smug smile on Asami’s face.

“I created the first fully electrical motor engine. I’m entitled to some pride.” Asami defended herself.

“Wow, humble and good for the environment. You’re the full package.” Korra joked further. Asami raised a bemused eyebrow. The whole package? Was she flirting with her? Even when she looked like she was slightly decomposing?

“Joking aside, that sounds like a cool job! Inventing stuff.” Korra continued, showing real interest.

“Yeah it is. Stressful, but nice.” Asami felt her guard lower at the genuine smile she received. Whatever she had thought about Korra yesterday melted away. All she saw was a kind and adorable woman.

“You engineer stuff on your own?” Korra asked next. She still wanted to unravel the mystery behind Asami and her job looked like a good start.

“No, I work for a company.”

“A big one?”

“Varrick Global Industries.” This made Korra’s jaw drop.

“Varrick Global Industries!? That’s like the biggest company in the city, maybe even on the earth! Besides Future Industries of course…” Asami laughed.

“You seem to know a lot about companies.”

“Well, I’m not an expert, but a while back I had a lot of time to read magazines and watch television. Varrick was on the panel of Dragon’s Den, that man is crazy! Did you see him jump from that rooftop with a self-made glider suit?” Korra asked. Asami rubbed her temples at the mention of that incident.

“Yeah, like it was yesterday. I made that suit, just for a commercial. He had to try it though! Everybody tried to talk him out of it. He was this close to falling to his death. My colleague almost had an heart attack.” Korra smiled at hearing the behind the scenes information. She couldn’t believe that she was talking to someone close to Varrick. That man was her source of amusement when she… Korra’s thoughts drifted off.

“A pecan pie, a glass of water and two cups of coffee.” The waitress announced as she put the things on the table. Korra mouthed a thank you.

“Are you still going to eat this?” The waitress asked.

“No, my stomach acted up, so it’s no critique on the chef.” Asami explained with a smile. The waitress nodded and took the plate with the food barely touched.

 Korra stuck her fork into the pie and chewed enthusiastically on a piece as Asami cradled her cup of coffee, cautiously taking small sips.

“So how is it to be a police officer?” Asami asked as she enjoyed seeing Korra practically inhale her pie.

“Hmmm… It’s okay.” Korra said, swallowing to empty her mouth. “As a kid I already wanted to be a police officer. That or a fire fighter.” Asami laughed.

“From the sound of it you were a full-on tomboy.” Asami remarked. Korra shrugged her shoulders at that.

“I just wanted to help people. What did you want to become when you were little?” Korra asked. Asami hummed in thought as she took another sip.

“I don’t know. I never really thought about it and when I got to an age to really figure it out, it was already settled that I would follow in my father’s footsteps. I did dress up as a princess very often though, but that’s not a realistic job prospect.” Now it was Korra’s turn to snicker. She had just met Asami, but somehow she could totally imagine her in a Disney princess outfit.

“What? Aim high or go home, right?” Asami joined in with the laughter. She knew it was cliché to dress up as a princess.  

“You at least outgrew it.” Korra said.

“Police officer doesn’t look bad on you.” Asami said, noting the beginning of a blush covering Korra’s cheeks. It looked adorable, something Asami won’t mind to witness more often. _What are you doing!? Don’t go there, that would be more than messed up!_ Her subconscious reminded her. With one big gulp Asami threw back the last of her coffee. “I’m afraid I have to go.” She stated. The change of mood was immediate and made Korra frown in confusion. Had she said something wrong?

“Oh. Okay. Sure. Maybe I see you around.” Korra said as Asami slammed some bills on the table to royally cover her bill.

“It’s a small world.” Asami said as a goodbye and walked away.

“Strange.” Korra sighed to herself as she sunk deeper into her chair. She just started to enjoy the company.

 

* * *

 

 

Her apartment smelled stuffy. _W_ _hen was the last time I opened a window?_  Asami thought as she made her way to the dark living room. She opened the curtains, groaning when the sunlight hit her eyes. A small headache pounded softly behind her forehead. She opened the window and heard birds singing and children screaming in the park below. _At least the world is happy._

The living room was lighted by the daylight and Asami walked up to the cupboard. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before she grabbed a bottle from one of its shelves. Within the one hand a bottle and in the other a glass she plopped down on the couch. She poured the glass half full with the amber liquid she knew so well and sat back.

She looked around the room. It was mostly empty except from the cupboard, television set, couch, salon table and an hospital bed. Beside the bed were carton boxes, neatly piled up. The sight made her take a big gulp from her glass. She shut her eyes and hoped the new level of alcohol in her blood would take her off to sleep.

The sounds of summer filtered into the room due to the open window. For a second Asami felt at peace. It was almost as if she was a small girl again, sitting underneath a tree in the garden. Listening to creatures that were also excited about the sun. The memory didn’t last as a sharp beeping disturbed the peaceful atmosphere. With an annoyed groan Asami reached in her pocket, grabbing her phone.

“Asami Qadira speaking.”

“Miss Qadira, someone called to your office.” Asami heard her assistant say on the other end of the line. “A Korra Kaito. She’s a police officer and it sounded urgent.” Asami sat up, her brow wrinkling in surprise.

“Yes?”

“She wanted to contact you.”

“Give her my private number.”

“Alright Miss Qadira. Good day.”

“Bye.” Asami hung up, staring at her phone. She didn’t know how long it would take for Korra to call her back, but if it was urgent it couldn’t take long. _What could be urgent? I have just spoken to her. Not a lot could have happened in that small period of time. Maybe I said something wrong…_ Asami’s thoughts were broken when her phone started to ring again. An unknown number.

“Asami here.”

“Hi Asami, it’s Korra.” A gleeful voice answered.

“Hello Korra.”

“Seems like we can’t get rid of each other, huh?” The voice laughed, forcing a small smile on Asami’s face.

“Like I said, small world. Although you’re the one that called my office, so this looks more like stalking.” Asami responded playfully, forgetting her former state of mind.

“I would never!” Korra pretended to sound offended. “It’s just that you left your bag in the restaurant and I found your business cards inside.” _My bag! Shit._ Asami had forgotten that she always carried two bags to work. One with her personal items and one with stuff from work. She must have left her work bag in the restaurant when she left in an hurry.

“Lucky a police officer found it.” Asami said, knowing that her bag was in good hands.

“Haha, yes an advantage of drinking coffee with the police.  Anyway, I thought you wanted it back. I’m heading to my friends now, but after that I can drop it off somewhere.”

“That’s very sweet of you. Could you drop it off at my place? It’s near the city centre.”

“Sure! Give me the address and I will be there around… uhm.. three?”

 _What are you doing!? You don’t want visitors here, definitely not Korra Kaito! Abort! Abort!_ Asami thought as her mouth went on telling Korra her address.

“Spirit Vine 24. It’s in the flat.”

“Ah, in the nice neighbourhood.”

“You know it?”

“Yes, there’s a park there. My dog loves it.” Asami’s heart made a little jump when she was confronted with this piece of random information about Korra. _Don’t you dare!_

“Okay, have fun with your friends. See you.” Asami broke off the conversation, before Korra could fully make her goodbyes. After she hung up the phone slipped out of Asami’s hand. In realisation of what just happened her eyes bounced around the room in panic. _I have to clean up. Make it look normal._ With a toss of her hand she threw back her drink, swallowing it in one go. She coughed as the whiskey burnt its way into her system.

“You did it to yourself.” She sighed as she started to open more windows.

 

* * *

 

 

Korra pushed the button next to Asami’s name. An electric buzz sounded through the speaker.

“Asami here.”

“Hello ‘Asami here’, it’s Korra.” Korra could almost hear Asami's eye roll.

“Come on up Korra.” The locked door clicked and Korra could push it open, making her way up the stairs.

“Hello.” When Korra reached the right floor, Asami was already waiting in the hall. Korra couldn’t help but smile. Asami’s hair seemed damp from a shower and her outfit  had a casual look to it. It consisted of a loose red blouse, faded jeans and red sport shoes.

“So this is where all the brilliant engineers live.” Korra said grinning as she reached Asami.

“I guess.” Asami stepped aside so Korra could walk through the open door. When she entered the hall Asami led her to the living room.

“Wow… uhm… spacious.” Korra commented. The living room was big and also almost empty. It looked cold and impersonal. “Just moved here?” Korra asked, nodding towards the boxes lining the wall.

“No, I lived here for years. I… I am going through a redecoration, but with work being frantic it hasn’t moved along yet.” Korra could swear Asami was making up an excuse, but she let it go. Her attention was drawn to the window that displayed a beautiful scenery.

“Oh gosh! That’s the park where I walk my dog!” Korra yelped in excitement.

“The views are pretty great here. What’s the name of your dog?”

“Naga. My dad found her on the streets when she was a pup. She is some sort of husky, but we actually don’t really know. But she’s big, fluffy and friendly.” Asami’s heart melted a little, hearing the genuine love in Korra’s description.

“She sounds great.”

“She is!” Korra turned, looking at Asami. She then realised what she came for.

“Oh, here. Your bag.” Korra said awkwardly as she pulled the bag from her shoulder.

“Thanks. I had a lot on my mind, except for my bag.” Asami apologized.

“Don’t worry, I forget things all the time. Drives my friends crazy.”

“So… do you want something to drink?” Korra looked at how Asami was fidgeting with the handles on her bag. She seemed nervous or tense.

“Hmmm, sure. I’ll take a glass of water, it’s warm out there.” Korra smiled. Asami nodded and disappeared into another room. This gave Korra the chance to walk around a little. The boxes against the wall weren’t labelled. There were black skid marks on the floor, as if something was rolled away recently. The only cupboard in the room held glasses and some bottles. It still confused Korra why the room looked like it wasn’t being used.

“Here you go!” Asami said as she returned with two glasses of water. Korra almost jumped up, but stopped her urge just in time. She didn’t mean to investigate Asami’s living room, but the woman was still so mysterious and intriguing.

Asami put the glasses on the salon table. Korra followed her to the couch. The television opposite them was showing a movie. She recognized Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. They were hiding behind a golf cart while fire and explosions were all around them.

“The Expendables. I like to watch dumb action movies when I’m tired.” Asami said, following Korra’s line of sight.

“I haven’t seen it.” Korra replied with a smile. “I never would have picked you for an action film lover.”

“Really? What kind of films did you think I watched?”

“Hmm.. well. After your confession of dressing up like a princess I would have said romance, maybe romantic comedies.”

“Ugh, those fairy tales.” Asami cringed.

“Hey! They make people happy! Like The Proposal, you’ve got to love that!” Korra protested, before she realised what she was saying. Asami raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m just saying…” Korra mumbled in a soft voice. Then Asami burst out in a full-on laugh. She had to push her hand to her mouth to lower the volume. Korra pretended to be offended, pouting while she took in the laugh. It was wonderful to see. Asami gasped while giggles rolled out of her mouth. It made Korra want to laugh as well, despite her pout.

“Oh.. sorry. Sorry! It’s just… I hadn’t picked you for a romantic comedy fan.” Asami said, wiping some tears from her eyes.

“I think they are great, making life a little bit more liveable.” Asami immediately stopped laughing when Korra said that.

“Yeah, you might be right. I never have looked into the genre.” Asami voice sounded distant, which made Korra think she had said something wrong.

“I could send you a list with good ones. Love Actually, Never Been Kissed, Notting Hill, all classics.” Korra said to lighten the mood.

“That would be nice.” Asami snickered. After that it was quiet. They both watched the silent images on the big flat screen. It wasn’t an awkward silence, strange enough Korra felt relaxed and leaned deeper into the couch.

“I once…” Before Korra could continue a sharp beeping interrupted her. Asami grabbed her phone and looked at the display.

“I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s work.” She excused herself as she walked out of the living room with her phone. Korra sighed. Here she was again, alone in a creepy, empty, impersonal living room. _I wonder how she’s going to redecorate it. She looks like someone who likes modern, but then again she also watches old action actors._

“I’m so sorry Korra. I need to go. Apparently there is a problem with the new line of cars we’re trying to produce.” Asami said apologetic as she was already putting on her coat.

“Oh, no problem! I needed to go anyway.” Korra lied.

“Maybe we can finish our water another time.” Asami said with a smile. _Is she asking me out?_ Korra couldn't help but wonder.

“Hmm, sure. I’m always in the mood for water.” Korra laughed as she stood, readying herself to leave.

When Korra walked into a more familiar part of town her mind kept crawling back to Asami. She couldn’t let her go. The way she laughed, the way she smiled, how weird her apartment was and how sadness had struck her eyes when Korra mentioned the happiness romantic comedies could give. How they kept bumping into each other.

“Come on Korra, let it go. It’s just a small world.” She said to herself as she crossed the road.


	2. Get It Right Or Get Going

 

 

“I thought you promised me a torture free week.” Asami complained while mindlessly scrolling down a website.

“There are things I can’t even control.” Zhu Li said.

“I am officially disappointed.” Asami joked, stifling a yawn.

The fault in the production line of the new sports car had taken another night from Asami. She had slept on the couch in her office, but that couldn’t have been more than four hours. She felt rough to say the least. Now it was only around eight in the morning and Zhu Li had come around for coffee, feeling slightly guilty about the whole affair.

 “So, how is life?” Zhu Li asked out of the blue, dragging Asami’s attention away from her computer.

“Why?” She asked full of suspicion.

“I am your only friend. So it is my duty to ask you.”

“You’re hardly my only friend, besides you are more like a very friendly colleague.” Asami huffed.

“Really? I make it my personal business to know the staff and since you work here you never talked about other ‘friends’.” Asami raised an eyebrow at Zhu Li. She didn’t know if Zhu Li tried to be cruel or if she was not aware of how cold she just sounded.

“I had to burn a lot of bridges.” Asami gave in. Her mood fell even deeper than it already was.

“I know and that takes courage. One of the reasons Varrick hired you.” Zhu Li said with an encouraging smile, showing that she was trying to be kind about it.

Asami nodded, noticing that she had logged in on Facebook. She didn’t even use Facebook that often and if she did, it was only to promote the latest invention or campaign of Varrick Global Industries. _I wonder if she has a Facebook profile._ Asami typed _Korra Kaito_ into the search bar. Some profiles popped up and her mouse stopped by a Korra living in Republic City. _A private profile, smart girl._

“Asami!”

“What?” Asami looked up, seeing the annoyed face of her friend.

“Can we have a normal conversation?”

“Sure, sorry. Something caught my attention.” Asami hesitated but quickly pushed the friendship request button before closing her laptop. “You were saying?”

“I was asking.”

“Right, how my life is going. Same old.” Asami said without blinking. She didn’t want to talk about her life. These days it was bad enough to live it. “How is your life? Is Varrick still ignoring you?” Asami turned the focus on her friend.

“Ugh, one moment he drives me crazy and the next… Well, I never met a man so intriguing and brilliant. It’s like I know I have all the right in the world to quit and tell him I am not his personal slave. But I can’t let him go.” 

 _I have enough reasons to forget her and I still send out a friendship request._ Asami thought, locking her attention onto her closed laptop.

“I think I know how you feel.”

“Serious though, maybe I should quit.” As Zhu Li said that a ping sounded through the room. With a frown Zhu Li reach down and brought up a black device.

“Is that a beeper?” Asami asked in disbelieve. Those things were ancient. Asami had never expected to see those outdated devices inside the walls of such a modern company. She remembered them from her childhood, how she would page her dad with cute messages.

“Yes, I know. Varrick found some and gave me one. He said that it will bring us back to our roots.” Zhu Li explained as she clicked the beeper back on her belt. “I need to go, he has a wardrobe malfunction.”

“You are practically married to the guy.” Asami joked with a sly grin.

“Stop!” Zhu Li warned. “I hope being married to him would be less stressful.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Great talk.” Zhu Li said sarcastically as she stepped out of the office. Asami couldn’t help but smile. She loved teasing Zhu Li about her strange crush on their boss, although she also hoped that one day Varrick would come to his senses and realise how valuable Zhu Li was.

With a sigh Asami opened her laptop again, preparing herself to respond to some e-mails. Her laptop made a ‘bing’, indicating that something had happened to the website she had minimalized. She opened the page again. Korra had accepted her friendship request and had sent her a message in the chat box. A little bit too eager Asami opened the box.

‘Hi there! You found me :D’ The happy message forced a smile on Asami’s face. _Last warning Sato, you need to stop this!_

 

* * *

 

 

Korra had gone extra early to her work. She wanted to show Iroh how motivated she was to do her job right. But it was a slow morning. Iroh was in a meeting and there was not much to do for Korra besides sulking at her desk.

While she waited for orders she was on Facebook, checking up on some friends. After commenting on some funny pictures she saw that Bolin was online. Yesterday she had visited the brothers. Although Mako was doing alright, he was pretty bummed about his wound and how he had to wait for it to heal. Korra quickly asked Bolin how Mako was doing this morning. Before she could await his answer, she got a notification. She looked up and saw she had a new friend request.

“Asami Qadira…” Korra said out loud, letting the name roll over her tongue. Eagerly she accepted the invitation and visited Asami’s profile. Korra raised her eyebrows at the lack of personal information. The page was full with pictures of cars, engines and other technical stuff. For a moment Korra thought that this might as well be a page set up by Varrick Global Industries to reach more people, instead of a personal one.

 _She brings a whole new meaning to the word workaholic._ Korra thought as she wrote Asami a friendly message. After that she returned to her conversation with Bolin. She snorted as Bolin had answered her question with a picture of Grumpy Cat.

‘That bad?’ She sent back.

‘Ugh, it’s the first time I am happy that my lectures start early.’ Bolin immediately wrote back.

‘I’m sorry. Maybe I can bring around some pizza this evening. Even Grumpy Cat won’t say no to such a peace offer.’

‘Pizza!!!!!’ Korra snickered at the enthusiastic answer Bolin had given her as she saw she had a new message from Asami. _That’s fast._ Somehow Korra had thought that Asami would take ages before she would reply to anything on Facebook. With a pounding heart she opened the chat box.

‘I thought it would be useful to befriend you for when I leave my purse unattended again ;)’ Korra smiled at the playful answer. This was definitely the right Asami and not some sort of advertising robot.

‘Are you making use of me Miss Qadira?’ Korra sent back, using Asami’s last name for the first time. A name Korra decided she liked very much.

‘Maybe…’

‘I am shocked!! :o’ Korra continued their conversation.

‘How about I make it up to you. Are you free this evening? I know a nice place where they sell brilliant Indian food.’ Korra had to read the message a couple of times before she realised Asami was really asking her out. Sort of. She bit her lip as her eyes fell back on her conversation with Bolin. However much she wanted to have dinner with this mysterious and gorgeous woman, she couldn’t ditch her friends like that.

‘Sorry, tonight I can’t. Have pizza night with my friends. Another time?’ Korra hesitated a little before pushing send. Her eyes were glued to the screen, waiting for an answer.

‘That’s okay, another time then.’ Korra couldn’t help but hear the disappointment through the message.

‘Need to go now. Work is calling.’ Another message followed.

‘I know what you mean. I need to keep to streets safe. Talk to you later!’ Korra sent back, sighing as she saw how Asami went offline.

“Korra!” The voice of Iroh resounded through the room. In shock Korra flipped her laptop shut, not wanting to get caught Facebooking.

“Yes?” She said innocently.

“This here is Opal. As you know she is going to enforce our team.” A girl, about the same age as Korra stepped from behind Iroh. Her eyes were light green, taking in Korra with curiosity.  

“Hi there.” She said as she extended her hand. Korra stood up, accepting the greeting.

“Hi. I’m Korra. Nice to meet you.” Korra introduced herself.

“I have informed Opal about our case yesterday. Today I need you two to check some alibies. Ping, a member of the Triple Thread Triad was seen at a strip club a week ago. I have footage form the security camera’s that night. I need you to look through them and write out what Ping was doing and who he met. After that I need you to call this list of people, declaring they saw Ping. They need to make their statements official at the station. If anything doesn’t check out I want to hear it.” Korra nodded at Iroh, but inside she groaned. This was going to be a boring day.

Iroh turned and left the room. Opal took place behind the empty desk directly across from Korra.

“So Ping. Weird name.” She remarked.

“They actually call him Two Toed Ping.” Korra said.

“Really? Why? Does he only have two toes?” Opal asked in mild disgust.

“No, he has two extra toes.” Korra said with a smile. It always delighted her to tell this story to people, it sounded like a joke, but it was actually true.

“Wow, these people are disgusting.” Opal declared, but laughed with Korra.

“I know. Ping isn’t that bad. He is more stupid than evil. Still, he hangs with the wrong kind of people.”

“So you’re trying to find members of the Agni Kai via the Triple Threads?” Opal asked. She knew the answer. After her meeting with Iroh yesterday she had read up on the investigation till late in the night. She asked however to bond with Korra.

“Yes. We tried to arrest Shady Shin. He’s a recruiter for the Triple Threads, but we think he has connections with the Agni Kai as well. When we went to his house he started shooting and the rest is in the papers.” Korra’s voice grew softer as she finished her story. The shooting was still fresh on her mind and she couldn’t help but feel goose bumps when she talked about it.

“I’m sorry that happened. Is Mako okay? It’s Mako right?” Opal asked, genuine concern on her face. Korra smiled. Opal was way kinder than her aunt Lin. She expected her to be arrogant and entitled, but she was actually being very cool. At least from what Korra could tell in the few seconds they had shared now.

“He’s alright. He needs to rest his arm, but there is no permanent damage. It could have been way worse.”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Shall I call while you start with the footage?” Opal continued.

“Yes, sure.” Korra cheered in her head, she hated making phone calls. Having Opal Beifong on her team was turning out to be a blessing.

 

* * *

  

Asami’s heels clicked against the floor. She reminded herself that she should wear different shoes the next time, this way she was attracting too much attention. Nurses and patients looked up as she walked by and Asami didn’t want to be seen. Even as they didn’t bother her.

“Miss Qadira!” A woman shouted out as she walked past the counter. She turned in surprise. Usually she was allowed to walk straight into the room.

“Yes?”

“We have an issue with the insurance.” Asami groaned internally. Why couldn’t things just go as planned?

“Okay.” Asami sighed as she walked up to the counter.

“Yes, your mother is insured with someone called…” The woman typed in some things and peered at the computer screen. “Ash Xerxes.”

“She was, but she has no connection to that man now. You can bill me for all the expenses made.” Asami needed to inhabit the need to pinch the bridge of her nose. She had this conversation with the hospital before.

“So you don’t want to use the insurance?” The woman asked in surprise. Asami knew that the care was expensive. A sum of money a normal person couldn’t afford. Luckily Asami wasn’t a normal person.

“Yes, I would appreciate it if you kept mister Xerxes out of this. You’ve got the number of my bank account and my credit is good. Just send me the bill, I will pay it directly.” Asami repeated her point to make sure they got it this time.

“Alright. Thank you Miss Qadira. I know you don’t want to be bothered with this right now, but I needed to check.”

“It’s okay.” Asami waved away the apology. She knew the woman was just doing her job. With a new sense of exhaustion Asami made her way through the corridor inside the now familiar room. The beeping of the monitor was the only activity as her mother laid motionless in the bed.

“Hi, mom. Lovely day isn’t it?” Asami asked. She opened the window to let fresh air in, not that it would help her mother recover, but still.

With a sigh Asami took place next to the bed. She examined her mother’s features, confirming that her state hadn’t changed and probably never will.

“We had a difficulty with the production of my new sports car. I had to work all night again.” Asami said. Her mother answered with silence. Asami knew her mother couldn’t hear her. She was in a coma for over a week now and even before that she was unable to speak. In her mind however Asami could just imagine what her mother would say. If she squinted her eyes she could pretend that her mother was just sleeping and she could wake up any moment to greet Asami with a radiant smile.

“I met a girl…” The words sprung from Asami’s mouth without thinking. This was the only place where she felt comfortable enough to just speak out her thoughts. “I actually already knew her. Well, knowing is a big word. I knew of her existence… She’s actually pretty nice. I keep wanting to contact her.” Asami bit her lip. Korra had haunted her thoughts for a while now. “I shouldn’t though. It’s awkward and weird.” Asami sat back, letting the silence fill her up. She closed her eyes.

_Korra can’t help what has happened. If you like her go for it! She has a solid job and a loving nature. You always had a knack for letting the past slow you down._

Asami chuckled to herself. She could let her mother say anything and she still decided on tough love. Yes, Korra had a solid job. Yes, she was loving and friendly. But this wasn’t going to work. Not so long Asami didn’t know why she was so fascinated by the woman.

Suddenly Asami felt unbearable loneliness. It almost felt as if it choked her. She had Zhu Li, but she knew Zhu Li was tied to work. If it came down to Asami or Varrick Global Industries, Asami knew which one Zhu Li would choose and it wasn’t going to be her. Which was fine, but a bad foundation for a real friendship. She had no one to fall back on. All her friends had either stopped contacting her or Asami had carefully cut them out of her life.

 _I wonder if he still has the same phone number._ Asami stopped her thoughts. She wasn’t ready to go there.

“What should I do?” Her mother didn’t move. 

 

* * *

 

“Pizza time!” Korra yelled as Bolin opened the door.

“With extra pineapple?” Bolin asked with a broad smile when he let Korra in.

“Of course with extra pineapple. I am not an amateur.” Korra laughed as she walked to the small living room with the three pizza boxes.

“You and your pineapples. Pizzas are supposed to be savoury, not sweet.” Mako remarked. He sat on the couch. His face was a little bit paler than normal and his hair was uncombed.

“And how are you?” Korra asked. She would normally make fun of Mako’s snarky remark, but she still felt guilty over the whole ordeal with his arm.

“Not great. It hurts.” Mako answered in honesty.

“That’s because you refuse to take the painkillers.” Bolin complained as he entered the room with a glass of cola for Korra.

“They make me loopy. I don’t want to be physical and psychological disabled.” Mako answered.

“Well, I got you a pizza with extra pepperoni. Maybe that will soften the pain.” Korra tried to hide her guilt.

“Thanks. I will be okay.” Mako said, seeing the discomfort in his friend’s eyes.

“I know. Like you said on the drive from the hospital, maybe you get a kickass scar out of it.” Korra said with a smug smile as she opened the box of her own pizza.

“I didn’t say that.” Mako said in puzzlement.

“Oh yes you did. You also flirted with every nurse that walked by.” Bolin chimed in, grinning at Korra.

“No! I would never.”

“I guess those painkillers make you loopy and a Casanova.” Korra continued while she giggled with Bolin.

“You two are childish. You should have prevented me from making a fool out of myself.” Mako complained.

“Don’t worry bro. It was about time that you put yourself out there again.” Bolin grinned before taking his first bite.

“I don’t see you two having any luck on the market. At least I am trying, even under influence of drugs.” Mako countered.

“Who says I don’t have luck? I am super charming.” Korra declared, happy that the tension about Mako’s injury was out of the room.

“Oh yeah? When was the last time you talked to someone ‘interesting’?” Mako asked sceptically.

“Well…”

“Oh my god! Korra met someone!” Bolin gasped.

“No! I didn’t… Well… There is this woman.” Korra cautiously continued.

“Tell! Tell! Tell! I have finals next week. My life is miserable. I need juicy details!” Bolin insisted. Mako rolled his eyes and started to quietly eat. He knew that one day Korra would find somebody new, but he couldn’t help the pang of loss in his heart. In opposition to his brother, he didn’t need any details.

“We crossed paths a couple of times. Nothing exciting happened.” Korra shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t give me that! Something must have happened else you wouldn’t have mentioned it. What’s her name? What does she look like?” Bolin said in between bites.

“I’m not going to give you her name. I meant it when I said nothing happened. I just kind of like her.”

“So there is potential?” Bolin asked. It was weird, Korra never considered Asami as a potential girlfriend, but when Bolin asked if there was potential Korra couldn’t help but smile like a fool. There was a lot Korra didn’t know about Asami, but the prospect that they might get close warmed her heart. She definitely wasn’t opposed to the idea of becoming Asami’s girlfriend in the future.

“That serious huh?” Mako said, seeing the sheepish smile on Korra’s face.

“Okay, I really like her, but it’s too early. Besides, her life looks kind of complicated.” Korra confessed. She looked down at her pizza. Asami had thrown her off balance more than she had thought.

“So what? Life is complicated. If you like her go for it.” Mako said. Some part of him didn’t want Korra to move on, another part wanted her to be happy. God knows she deserved it.

“Alright. Enough about this. Let’s watch something stupid.” Korra decided. She wanted to eat her pizza without getting emotional.

“I call Comedy Central.” Bolin grabbed the remote.

“No cartoons…” Mako huffed, knowing that his fate was already decided.

 

* * *

 

The point of the pencil broke off when Asami made one last stroke to complete her drawing. She sighed and wiped the point on the ground while taking in the picture. It displayed a park with a girl walking a large dog. She swirled her glass, hearing the ice cubes clinking against the sides.  

“So far for a productive hour.” She mumbled, drinking the last of her whiskey. She actually wanted to finish some rough sketches for work, but her mind wasn’t cooperating. She had been stressed out ever since she had left the hospital with a gaping emptiness inside her.

Without thinking Asami grabbed a pack of cigarettes from her bag. She ticked the pack a couple of times on the table top till one stood out, making it easy to grab.

“Excuse me, it’s prohibited to smoke here.” A waiter said, smiling friendly at Asami.

“Oh, of course! Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It’s an habit.” Asami blurted out, feeling quite stupid for forgetting.

“No problem. Do you want something else to drink?” The young man asked, looking at Asami’s empty glass.

“Yes, the same please.”

“Of course.” The man took her glass and walked off. Asami sighed again as she put the cigarette back into the pack. She had almost forgotten she was in a bar. After leaving her mother she had a bite to eat and after that she didn’t want to be alone. She hadn’t been to this bar for a long time. When she was younger she went here with her friends. Now Asami couldn’t remember why she thought it was a good idea to drink and work here tonight. It only made her nostalgic.

“Hi there Korra! You almost missed the game!” Asami’s eyes shot to the entrance of the bar when she heard the older bartender yell the familiar name.

“I know! Did I miss a lot?” Korra answered back. Asami saw her making her way to the bar, taking a spot facing the television hanging from the ceiling. It showed a football match.

“You got to be kidding me.” Asami whispered as she kept staring at the woman.

“A Fire Ferret on ice.” The waiter declared as he put the glass down.

“Oh, thanks.” Asami said, smiling at the waiter. The man nodded and wanted to turn around. “Wait!”

“Uhm, yes?” The waiter turned back again.

“Can you give that woman a glass of water?” Asami asked, pointing to Korra. The waiter looked over his shoulder and looked back at Asami in confusion.

“A glass of water?”

“Yes, I know. People usually buy each other wine or something. It’s an inside joke.” Asami tried to explain. The waiter nodded and took off. In between the glances Asami threw Korra’s way, she packed her bag, readying herself to move seats.

She saw how the waiter placed a glass of water beside Korra with slight hesitation before he tapped Korra on her shoulder. Korra was emerged in the game, mindlessly putting peanuts in her mouth. It made Asami worry that Korra didn’t want to interrupted while watching the game and would reject her offer.

As the waiter said something to her, Korra turned around with a frown. Asami almost bit her lip, expecting Korra to roll her eyes or even worse, turn away. Instead she started to smile and waved as she caught Asami’s eyes. Relieve washed over Asami as she made her way to the bar with her bag and drink.

“I told you we could finish our waters some other time.” Asami said with a smile when she sat down on the barstool next to Korra.

“Where is your water then?” Korra asked with a twinkle in her eyes. Seeing Asami gave her heart a jumpstart. Even more now since she had her little revelation at Bolin’s and Mako’s place. _There is definitely potential._

“I traded it in for something stronger.” Asami shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, I’ll toast to that.” Korra said as she brought her beer to Asami’s drink. Asami carefully clinked her glass against Korra’s and took a small sip.

“So you came here to watch the game?” Asami asked.

“Yes, better than alone at home. I like watching sports. American football. Baseball. Basketball. Soccer.”

“I only watch Formula One.” Asami remarked.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” Korra smiled. Another thing she could add to the list of what she knew about Asami Qadira. “What brings you here? Is it me?” Korra said with a teasing grin.

“You wish.” Asami laughed, taking another sip. “I came here to work. I didn’t want to be alone. When I was younger this used to be my hangout.”

“Really? This old dump?”

“Hey! I can hear you!” They heard the bartender yell from behind the bar.

“Sorry! It has a lot of character!” Korra yelled back before falling into a giggle fit with Asami.

“To answer your question. Yes, really. This characteristic old dump is where I used to go as a college student.” Asami said soft enough so that the bartender wouldn’t overhear. “I had friends in the neighbourhood.”

“My friends Bolin and Mako live close by as well. That’s the only reason why I come here. The place kind of grew on me.” Asami took another sip from her glass when she heard those names, to keep her from cringing. She knew Korra was connected to them, but to hear her say it made it worse.

“What are you drinking?” Korra asked when she saw Asami’s face tense while sipping the amber liquid.

“Whiskey.” Asami answered.

“I never was able to stomach that stuff. I have the alcohol tolerance of my mother, one drink and I’m gone.” Korra confessed.

“This is actually really good whiskey. Want to taste?” Asami asked further, trying to keep her mind of Bolin and Mako.

“I will have a sniff.” Korra said, accepting the glass. She carefully smelled the drink, feeling the sting of alcohol. “Way too strong. Do you taste anything else but alcohol?”

“The more often you drink it, the more you start to appreciate the different taste pallets.” Korra snickered at the answer.

“You could sell this stuff. If you ever get bored of engineering.” Asami grinned back at Korra. Korra looked back into the whiskey and slowly brought it to her mouth. When the liquid hit her throat she immediately started to cough. “I think that glass of water comes in handy now.” She said as tears stung her eyes.

“Come on. You can’t be such a light weight.” Asami said in awe.

“I don’t know how you can enjoy that.” Korra put the glass down in front of Asami. Asami stared at the glass. _Sometimes I don’t know either._

“Anyway, enjoy the game.” Asami said with a smile. It dawned on her that she shouldn’t come to Korra with her problems. Korra just wanted to sit at a bar and watch football.

“Don’t go.” It wasn’t louder than a whisper, but Asami heard it clear enough. “I mean if you have nowhere else to go.”

“I have time.” Asami said in surprise as she saw Korra nervously tapping her fingers at her glass before breaking out into a bright smile.

“So in order to get to know you better, would you rather be colour blind or not being able to taste sugar?”

“Really? That game?” Asami asked, barely holding in her laughter.

“Come on! It will be fun.”

“It breaks my heart but I would go for not tasting sugar.”

“Oh, I would definitely go for colour blind.” Korra started laughing as Asami settled back down on the barstool. Maybe going to this old bar was a good idea.

 

* * *

 

 

Korra welcomed the fresh breeze blowing across her face. With Asami by her side she walked through the dark city. It took Korra a while before she realised her feet had led them to her apartment.

“I kind of live here.” Korra said as she stopped in front of her flat.

“You kind of live here?” Asami asked with a smile.

“I fully live here, but it wasn’t my intention to bring you here.” Korra felt a blush rise to her cheeks at the thought that she could ask Asami up. The beers she had drunk at the bar were doing their work, making Korra feel a little bit more bolt without thinking about consequences.

“So…” Asami stepped a little closer to Korra. “Do you have the intention to ask me inside?” The question was asked in a seductive voice. For a second Korra was worried that they might do something that Asami would regret later. To Korra’s knowledge Asami only had two whiskey’s and she didn’t look intoxicated. She stood more confident than Korra at the moment.

“Y-you want to come up?” Korra asked, thinking that it could do no harm.

“Alright, if you insist.” Asami said, stepping away again. _Pfff, she’s going to be the end of me._ Korra thought as she fished her keys from her pocket.

 

* * *

 

They were ascending the stairs since Korra decided that it was healthier than taking the elevator. Asami wasn’t complaining though, watching Korra’s strong backside. The muscles tensed and released under her simple shirt. Asami had to make some fast steps to keep up with the pace as she was distracted by Korra’s body. _Stop staring, you’re making it already hard enough for yourself!_ Asami’s conscious warned her, but the alcohol in her blood made it easier to push all the moral objections aside.

“Home sweet home.” Korra declared as she stuck her key in the front door. Even before she could fully open the door a woof emerged from the apartment. “Naga down!” Korra said as a blur of white fluff almost ran out. The dog backed down a little but kept panting and wagging its tail as Korra let Asami enter.

“Hi there Naga.” Asami greeted the dog as Naga walked up to her, curiously sniffing her hand. She laughed as she scratched Naga behind her ears when the dog had accepted her smell. Naga whimpered happily. “I like animals, I just never had the time to keep a pet myself.”

“Well Naga likes you so she could be your adopted pet.” Korra said. She turned red again as she realised she was already making future plans with Asami.

“Sounds great.” Asami said and straightened her back. Naga walked up to Korra to receive another pat on her head before she left the room to get back to her doggy bed. “Do I get the grand tour?” Asami asked as she turned to Korra.

“It’s not as grand as your apartment, but sure.” Korra started off with the living room, than the kitchen and bathroom. By the third room Asami wasn’t really paying attention anymore as she was being drawn deeper into her want to get closer to Korra. Korra noticed Asami’s change of mood as well as Asami started to absent-mindedly let her hand linger on her upper arm or stood a little closer to her side than strictly necessary. By the time they made it to the bedroom Asami was practically throwing herself into Korra’s arms.

Korra eagerly welcomed Asami as she started to push their lips together. It didn’t take long before Korra deepened the kiss. Asami had the rough taste of whiskey on her tongue, which only aroused Korra more. She liked the delicacy of Asami’s careful caresses on her sides in contrast to the bittersweet taste of her mouth.

“Asami… Are you… sure?” Korra gasped in-between kisses as they were already moving towards the bed. Asami broke away and for a second Korra thought that Asami was about to change her mind, but through the darkness Korra could see how Asami grabbed the underside of her own shirt, lifting it over her head.

“I’m all in.” She said in an hoarse voice and Korra was almost sure she was dreaming as she stared at Asami’s pale body. In looked so inviting, slim and soft. A simple black bra complemented Asami’s character, seductive but practical.

Asami grinned when Korra moved into her arms again, reclaiming her mouth. Asami couldn’t remember the last time she was this intimate with somebody. Must have been meaningless and a long time ago. The way her body throbbed and ached made Asami realise that she needed this more than she had realised.

With a powerful twirl on her feet, Asami turned herself and Korra around so she could push Korra onto the bed. She immediately straddled the officer as her lust took over. With clever fingers she pried Korra’s shirt off, revealing a well-trained tan body underneath. Asami took the time to trail her fingers from Korra’s collarbone down to the waist of her jeans. All the while Asami asked herself if there was ever anybody else who made her blood boil like this.

She almost lost complete control as she looked up to start another passionate kiss, but when she met Korra’s blue eyes her blood froze. Korra’s eyes weren’t filled with desire and want, but with something more closer to fear.

“Korra, are you okay? Do you want me stop?” Asami directly asked as the expression on Korra’s face broke her heart.

“I… No. We can go on.”

“I won’t if you’re not into me.”

“I am into you!” Korra sat up, pecking Asami’s lips before settling down again. This somewhat reassured Asami. “I just can’t help thinking that I want this to happen differently.” Korra said in a soft voice.

“Differently?”

“I really…” Korra bit her lip. “I really like you. Maybe this isn’t the right way to… spend our first night together. You know?” Asami sighed and got off of Korra, laying down beside her. “I’m sorry.” She heard Korra whisper. Asami turned to her side to look at Korra.

“Don’t ever apologize for that. I think I just let myself go a little.” Asami smiled. She grabbed Korra’s hand and kissed her knuckles. It wasn’t like Asami to get all mushy and romantic. Usually someone saying that they started to really like Asami would result in Asami grabbing her stuff and leave. There was just something in Korra that made her want to stay. “It’s late. Do you think… Can I still stay here? I don’t feel like going home.”

“Of course! I could sleep on the couch and you can take the bed.” Korra said immediately, not wanting Asami to feel more rejected.

“Or we can stay together in the bed.” Asami suggested and was met with a hesitant look from Korra. “I promise no funny business! It just feels wrong to kick you out.”

“Alright. I’ll get you something to sleep in.” Korra agreed with a smile. She stepped out of bed to get Asami a pyjama and an extra pillow from the living room. Asami sighed as Korra walked out of the bedroom. _Now you really got yourself into a mess! How could you fall for her!? What kind of sick game are you playing!?_ Her conscious raged, but Asami knew she wasn’t playing anything. Not anymore. Korra had hit her hard. The only reason she was here was Korra and nothing else.

 _You still need to fix this or you better leave her alone._ “Shit…” Asami whispered into the darkness, voicing her own frustration about the situation she was in.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> P.s. 
> 
> This was a fast update since I had already written this chapter. The next one will take longer.


	3. Moving Forward, Moving Back

“Hmph…” Asami turned as her headache and dry mouth started to wake her. She soon realised she wasn’t in her bedroom and sat up. In took her a while to figure out where she was. Bits and pieces from last night entered her head and she cringed.  Things always looked worse in the harsh light of the morning.

“What have you done?” Asami asked herself as she saw the empty space next to her. She recalled how lust had raged through her body last night. After Korra had drifted off into a deep sleep, Asami couldn’t calm herself down. She had laid awake for hours, feeling overheated, something she couldn’t take care off while lying next to someone she barely knew. The whole ordeal freaked her out. It was clear that Korra had a strong effect on her and she wasn’t sure how Korra felt about it.

With a grunt she slipped out of bed. She found her clothes neatly piled up on a chair. _At least I still managed that._ Asami thought as she changed into her outfit from yesterday. She didn’t know if Korra was still around. Maybe she had felt awkward waking up next to Asami and had left early. This thought panicked Asami somewhat. However confused she felt about Korra, the thought of never seeing her again was worse.

 _Alright, time to face the music._ She thought before opening the bedroom door.

A delicious smell was hitting Asami’s nose as soon as she walked into the kitchen. Korra was standing by the stove, spatula in hand. Asami took a deep breath to gather the courage to say something. Korra looked relaxed and happy, but Asami still didn’t know how she would react to her presence.

“Goo…” Before she could continue, Naga’s barking interrupted her. The large dog ran up to Asami, demanding some attention.                          

“Naga, leave Asami alone!” Korra yelled as Asami bent down to pat Naga.                       

“Good morning Naga.” Asami cooed, smiling despite herself as Naga licked the side of her face.

“Take a seat if you want some breakfast.” Korra said while turning towards her guest.

“Sounds great.” Asami said as she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. She sat down at the small table, surprised to find a glass of water and another glass with orange juice in front of her. Korra walked over and put a plate on the table. The plate carried an omelette, eggs sunny side up and scrambled eggs.

“I didn’t know how you wanted your eggs, so I made all the kinds I know.” Korra said with a sheepish grin. Asami felt her heart melt. However she thought Korra would react to this morning, she hadn’t thought of this.

“Korra, that’s so sweet. But about last night…”

“Ha! I think we’re both pretty bad at one-night stands.” Korra laughed.

“Well… I don’t know about that.” Asami was really surprised by the lightness with which Korra handled this situation. “Look, I have to say this. I had a bad day yesterday and I wanted to blow off some steam.” Asami started and saw disappoint flicker in Korra’s blue eyes. “But that’s not the only reason I went home with you!” Asami quickly corrected herself. “You are kind and good looking.”

“Thanks…” Korra mumbled, turning slightly red which caused Asami to smile.

“You were right to stop us. I’m sorry if I made it weird.”

“You didn’t.” Korra reassured her and Asami felt herself relax. “I like having you around…” A smile tucked at Asami’s lips. She hadn’t ruined whatever was between her and Korra by her drunk and rash behaviour last night.

 “Scrambled eggs.” Asami said sweetly.

“W-what?”

“I like my eggs scrambled.”

“Oh, right! That, yes. Then I’ll take the other ones.” Korra said as she sat down as well, grabbing a toast from the basket in the middle of the table. Asami was in awe of Korra’s appetite in the morning. She ate the toast and the omelette in no time and only slowed down a little when she started on the other eggs.  Asami almost wanted to chuckle at the enthusiasm while she leisurely was eating her breakfast.  

“I can make you some more if you want.” Korra offered when Asami finished the scrambled eggs.

“No thank you. I had enough.” Asami smiled. “Besides, aren’t you going to be late for work?”

“Already keeping an eye on me, huh?” Korra teased.

“Well, I don’t want you to get fired over the worse one-night stand ever.” Asami teased back. Even though Korra had made the joke first, it still made her blush now Asami said it.

“I won’t and I could say the same to you.”

“I’m the head of my department. That comes with the bonus of flexible times.”

“I wish I had that luxury.” Korra complained, bringing the empty dishes to the sink. “I also wish I could give you a ride, but I don’t own a car.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have parked my car close to the bar from last night. I need to pick it up anyway."

“Wow, you really do have time to spare in the morning.” Korra grinned. Asami rolled her eyes as she helped clean up the table.

“Won’t Naga get lonely when you go to work the whole day?” Asami wondered as Naga kept padding after Korra.

“She’s good at being on her own. The neighbour feeds her around midday. Although it would be nice for her to have some more space. I am actually thinking about moving to a small house with a little garden.”

“Really? That sounds existing.” Asami said as she moved her hand through the thick fur on Naga’s back. The dog stood still, clearly enjoying the gesture.

“Yeah, I have some money saved up so…” 

“I know a good realtor. He can show you the best offers.” Korra chuckled.

“You know a lot of bigshots, don’t you?” Asami straightened her back and shrugged her shoulders.

“Business is all about knowing the right people and keeping good contacts. He helped me with my apartment. I can give him a call.”

“I thought you were an engineer and not an entrepreneur.” Korra joked about Asami’s know-it-all attitude. But her joke made Asami flinch, just for a second before she returned to her smile.

“I wasn’t always an engineer. Anyway, the offer stands.”

“Thanks. I already have some options, but I might pick you up on that.” Korra answered, returning to the dishes.

After a fast clean up, Korra and Asami were off to start their days. They halted on the corner of the street.

“I have to go this way.” Korra announced. She didn’t know how to say goodbye or if she wanted to at all.

“I was thinking. We have to stop seeing each other like this.” Asami said, looking at Korra with confidence.

“Stop seeing each other?” Korra asked, only picking up on the negative part of what Asami had said.

“I mean coincidentally meeting each other. Or actually, I mean to ask you on a date.” Asami said, almost laughing at Korra’s scared expression. She had to admit, she could have phrased that better.

“Really? I mean, sure! When?” Korra grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

“I have to go over my agenda. There are some things… I got your phone number from when you found my bag. How about I send you a message when I know more?”

“Sounds great!” Korra already felt giddy thinking about a future date.

“Okay, than I will see you around.” Asami said. She stepped forward, lowering her head a little to get closer to Korra. Korra wore a dumbfounded expression on her face as Asami moved in. Due to the lack of reaction Asami moved to the side and pressed a soft kiss on Korra’s cheek before moving away again.

“Have fun at work and call me if you want to contact that realtor!” Asami said as she started to walk away. Korra waved at her, finding the strength to move only after Asami had rounded a corner and was out of sight.

 

* * *

 

Mako groaned when he moved his shoulder into circles. He was working on his laptop, reading old articles about old crimes related to the triads that were terrorizing the city for years now. He knew he was off work till his arm was healed, but he was never the kind to do nothing.

“Hi!” Bolin called when he entered the house.

“Home already?” Mako asked without taking his eyes from the computer screen.

“The prof was sick, so the lecture this morning was cancelled. I brought doughnuts.”

“Not a fan of doughnuts.”

“But I am!” Bolin laughed as he let himself fall on the couch. “I also brought the mail. Want to hear what you got?”

“I’m working.” Mako sighed, knowing that Bolin was going to read his mail anyway. He tried to read through the article while he heard Bolin tear a letter open.

“Awh, a get well card from Chief Beifong. ‘Get well soon’.” Bolin read out loud in an heavy voice, trying to mimic Lin Beifong. “These are bills, not going to read that. Another get well card I guess.” More tearing of paper. “From Tu! It’s a watermelon card!” Bolin waved the card into the air.

“Hmmm...” Mako said as he looked at it for a split second.

“And another card, popular guy.” Bolin continued. Mako expected him to call out a name again and make a stupid joke, instead it remained quiet.  

“Who is it from?” Mako asked.

“Uhm… I think you need to read this one yourself.” Bolin walked up to Mako and handed him the card. He sighed, he wasn’t in the mood for reading cards with the same pathetic message. He looked at the card anyway as Bolin moved back to the couch.

_Dear Mako,_

_I read about your accident in the paper. I hope you are okay. Get well soon._

_Asami_

_06-23741290_

Mako had to read it a couple of times before he understood what the phone number meant.

“Are you going to call her?” Bolin asked hopeful.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Mako said, pretending to return to his work. Instead his mind was with Asami. It had been three years without any contact. She was an emotional wound he didn’t want to pry open.

“You have to call her.”

“Bolin, not now.”

“She was my friend too!” Mako looked up. Bolin looked at him with anger and disappointment.

“It’s complicated.”

“No it’s not. You broke her heart and now she is finally reaching out to you. Call her.” Mako looked back at the card on his desk. Bolin almost never forced him to do anything, but when he did he was usually right.

“Okay, I’ll give her a ring.” He agreed, even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Asami had to say.

 

* * *

 

Korra groaned as she tapped her fingers against the dashboard of the car. She and Opal were on a stakeout. They were outside Ping’s house, hoping that he might lead them to Shin. Korra threw a quick glance at her phone, hoping for a message that wasn’t there.

“So what’s his name?” Opal asked as she put another gummy bear in her mouth.

“Who’s name?”

“Of the person you so desperately want to contact you.” Opal said with a victorious smile. _Jeez, she really is observant._ Korra noted. They were working together for a couple of days now and every day it astounded Korra how good Opal was at her job.

“It’s not an he, it’s a she.” Korra said, wiping the smug smile of Opal’s face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume. What is her name?” She asked genuinely. Korra sighted. She didn’t know if she wanted to talk about Asami, but she also needed to talk about her. “If you don’t want to tell, then don’t.” Opal said as if she could read Korra’s mind.

“She’s just on my mind. We’ve been sending each other messages.” Korra explained, looking out the window. Still no activity around the house.

“That sounds cute.” Opal teased, knowing that ‘cute’ wasn’t a term Korra wanted to be associated with. “How long have you two been dating?”

“You’re very inquisitive today.” Korra threw back with a glare.

“Do you have something better to do than answering my questions?” Opal asked.

“Fine, we haven’t been dating. I don’t know her for that long and I…” Korra stopped, not knowing if she actually wanted to voice her fear.

“And you? Come on, I might have some advice. At high school I solved all the boyfriend and girlfriend problems.” Opal insisted.

“I have a feeling she’s pulling away.” Korra almost whispered. Opal nodded in sympathy.

“Why? Did she say so?”

“No, but we were about to go on this date and she still hasn’t checked her agenda. I mean, she’s a very busy person, but checking an agenda isn’t that hard!” Korra said in frustration. It has been days now since she and Asami had their little sleepover and Asami kept dodging the question of going out on a real date. It made Korra think she wasn’t really into it anymore. But just when Korra knew that Asami had lost interest, Asami would send a new message asking how her day was or telling her something funny that happened at work. It was so conflicting that it almost broke Korra down.

“Hey, take a gummy bear. It might cheer you up.” Opal said, offering the bag of candy to Korra. Korra grumpily grabbed a red one and chewed slowly. “If you give me her name I can run a background check on her.” Korra almost spat the bear out again.

“W-what!?”

“Happens all the time. When a guy is acting funny, I always run background check. I don’t want someone who is after my family name or whatever ulterior motive they might have.”

“I.. No, that’s wrong…” Korra mumbled, knowing that will be a serious violation of Asami’s privacy.

“I mean nothing too thorough. Just who her family is and things like her career, hobbies. Stuff you will find out anyway and if something doesn’t add up, you will at least know.” _It might explain things. She’s kind of secretive._ Korra groaned, hating herself for even considering it.

“There’s nothing wrong with levelling the playing field.” Opal grinned.

“You are really evil.” Korra remarked. She hasn’t seen this devious side of Opal yet.

“Well, date a few bad apples and you become realistic. I’m done with kissing frogs.” Korra snickered, feeling sorry for the guys that had tried to screw over Opal.

“So you won’t infringe on her private life too much?” Korra asked cautiously.

“It’s a superficial check. I have a friend who does this for the police department and I can tell him he doesn’t have to dig deep. It just spares you some time.”

“Well, if it’s superficial... Her name is Asami Qadira.” Korra bit her lip. She already felt regret for giving in to her curiosity despite her ethical objections.

“Asami Qadira.” Opal repeated. “Sounds familiar.” She added. Just when Korra wanted to respond to that the door of Ping’s house opened. Ping walked towards his car with a younger boy beside him.

“Who’s that?” Opal whispered as they carefully followed the pair with their eyes.

 “I don’t know, but the Triple Threats usually hire youngsters to sweep the streets for information.” Korra said back, carefully revving up the engine of the car as Ping and the boy started to drive.

“Poor boy.” Opal said back. She really hated it when criminal groups involved kids in their activities.

 

* * *

 

Asami turned a little in her seat. She was waiting for her first meeting with Wu Prince. Zhu Li would join them to make sure Asami was friendly. Varrick really wanted to use this guy’s ideas for his campaign, why he did was beyond Asami.

 Asami rearranged the pens on her desk out of boredom. Usually she would get herself a drink in these situations, she had a feeling that she needed it to deal with this Wu Prince. But ever since she stayed at Korra’s she didn’t feel the need to drink so often anymore. It was awkward at first to remember the encounter, but as time progressed, Asami only saw the positive things. How Korra’s mouth had tasted, how her body had looked from above while Asami was straddling her. She could still feel the warm touch of her hands.

Asami coughed in her fist to stop her thoughts from drifting. However pleasant the memory, it scared the hell out of Asami as well. Why did Korra have such an effect on her? They barely knew each other and yet Korra had become the highlight of Asami’s life already. Was it because everything else around Asami was so messed up? Was her mind and body just waiting for a random person to reach out and coincidentally that was Korra? That thought made Asami shiver. She liked to think of herself as someone with standards who doesn’t get so easily swept off her feet.

With a grunt she took the little bottle from her desk and emptied it in her coffee. After a few sips from her drink someone knocked on her door.

“Come in!” Asami said, quickly popping a breath mint in her mouth.

“Asami, this is Wu Prince.” Zhu Li and a thin man in green clothes and a crest in his brown hair walked into her office.

“Hello.” Asami jumped up from her chair to greet her guests.

“Well h-e-l-l-o to you.” The man said, grabbing Asami’s hand as he gave it a sloppy kiss that made ever muscle in Asami’s body recoil. Zhu Li gave her a stern look.

“Oh, an hand kiss. T-that doesn’t happen very often anymore.” Asami said with a forced smile.

“Wu Prince at your service my lady. The last gentlemen without limitations.” Wu said winking at Asami.

“Right, Asami Qadira. Head of creative.” Asami said professionally, trying not to roll her eyes. She gestured Wu and Zhu Li to the little corner of her office with some comfy chairs and a salon table. The drawings of the Hummingbird word sprawled out on the table.

“Ooooh! Is this my idea! How existing.” Wu exclaimed, picking up some papers and shuffling through them. Asami coughed in her hand to make him stop. He totally just undid her whole carefully thought out system.

“Yes. There are early sketches based on what you had sent us. Then there are some more detailed drawings and some blueprints of different models depending on which direction you want to take the Hummingbird. Although now we might not know which sketches are which.” The last little comment was said in a softer voice as Asami tried to rearrange her papers.

“Very professional! I can’t wait to show my followers these nice pics!” Wu clapped in his hands.

“Varrick Global Industries wants secrecy around this project. You can’t show anyone anything. It’s in the contract.” Zhu Li said.

“Secrecy. Like James Bond.” Wu said, thinking the statement over. “I like it. I like it very much!” He decided.

“Good, so… Uhm… Since this is a new project and a new invention I have made some adjustments to distinguish it from an helicopter decorated as a bird. As you can see here I have placed to cabins upon each other, giving the device a more upright stance.” Asami pointed out.

“Really!? That looks fantastic. I mean, I would have gone with an helicopter decorated as a bird, but this is something else. You, my sweet Asami, have the looks and the brains.”

“Alright.” Asami spoke through gritted teeth.  

“I mean do you realise how radical it will look when I fly in with this thing on the first day of the elections!” Wu continued.

“Elections?” Asami asked.

“Yes, I’m going to run for president! The whole reason why I want something like this. A good entrance is half the votes.” Now it all made sense to Asami. Wu was going to be a political figure and Varrick wanted a part of that political influence. Wu was probably also the only candidate crazy enough to spend fortunes on an overpriced parade horse.

“Good luck with that.” Asami said with a small smile.

“Who needs luck when there are women like you!” Wu wiggled his eyebrows.

“Oh, you need all the luck you can get.”

“So! Asami wanted to make the Hummingbird smaller and more agile in the air than a common helicopter.” Zhu Li talked over Asami’s remark. “That way it can be used on building sites, helping with the construction of tall buildings. That’s how Varrick Global Industries wants to bring the Hummingbird on the market.”

“Oooooh! This is so exiting! I’m the first inventor of my family.” Wu squealed, a little too high for Asami’s taste.

“That is very amazing.” Asami deadpanned.

“I know. I’m the whole package. Charismatic, creative, opinionated. It’s like evolution took a step forward, making me an human 2.0.” Wu explained in all honesty. Asami looked at Zhu Li, asking with her eyes if she really had to play nice with this guy. However much Zhu Li wanted to tell her to suck it up, Wu’s behaviour was wearing her down as well.

“Asami will update you on all  the important steps we’re taking to make this Hummingbird become reality.” Zhu Li declared as she stood up. Asami followed suit and soon Wu was preparing to leave as well.

“I look forward to the exchange. And if you want to make it more personal…”

“I’m sorry, it’s business policy to not date customers.” Asami interjected with a smile.

“Awh. Alright, star crossed lovers we should remain!” Wu said dramatically as he gave Asami another hand kiss. After that he was led out of the office by Zhu Li.

“Oh my freaking God.” Asami said out loud when she was sure she was alone again. Whatever her expectations of Wu Prince were, he was way worse. She grabbed her cup with cold coffee infused with whiskey. With Wu running for president there was no way out of this crazy project. The only thing she could do was make the Hummingbird practical and useful so that it wasn’t a total waste of money and time.

“To life being great.” Asami toasted with herself before emptying her cup in three big gulps when her phone started to ring. _What now?_ Asami wondered if the world could just leave her alone for one second. She looked at the display and didn’t recognize the number. She still picked up.

“Asami speaking.”

“Hi Asami. It’s Mako. You wanted to talk?” Asami’s blood froze, but she forced herself to regain her capacity to talk.

“I need to speak to you.”

 

* * *

  

“We pulled your file, this isn’t your first contact with the police.” Iroh said sternly as the youngster kept staring at him without any emotion. “Petty theft. That’s a long way from working for the Triple Threats.” After Opal and Korra had tailed Ping, they got a good photograph of him and the boy. With the picture they found the boy and called him in for questioning.

“I still don’t know what you want to ask me.” The boy said when a silence fell.

“What do you do for the Triple Threats?” Korra asked. The boy shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Korra pointed to the picture of him and Ping.

“I think you do.” She snarled.

“Listen Kai, these men are up to no good. You are still young and can get away from this.” Iroh explained calmly, but Kai didn’t look impressed.

“Get away from this? You must be joking. Where does a kid like me go? Have you been in an orphanage lately? It’s a mess! The way I see it is that he is paying me so I can get away from this city.” Korra swallowed. She didn’t want to get emotionally invested in the boy, but she also knew that the streets of Republic City were a harsh place to live. However much she loved this city, it had fatal flaws. Not being able to house every poor and orphaned child was one of them.

“Whatever he is paying you, it’s not worth it.” Iroh tried again.

“I don’t talk to cops.” Kai decided. “You can’t hold me here for walking down a street with a man. You have nothing.” This was true, but Iroh wanted to take the chance to talk some sense in the boy.

“Associating yourself with criminals can become a felony.” Iroh informed Kai before he stood up. Korra followed him out the interrogation room.  When they stepped out they were greeted by Opal.

“And?”

“He didn’t cave.” Korra said with a bad feeling in her stomach. Even though Kai had made a bad decision by working for the Triple Threats, his critique on the city was right.

“Triads pay kids to roam the streets and gather information. He must have been doing that. If only he would tell us what he knew.” Iroh mumbled in thought.

“We can’t keep him here, but we could tail him.” Opal chimed in.

“No use. Too expensive and we could get him in serious trouble if the Triple Threats discover he is being followed. I don’t want to have his death on my conscious.” Iroh said.

“Right, so back to the drawing board.” Opal sighed. She really hoped that Kai was their ticket to the Agni Kai.

“We will get there.” Iroh sighed.

 

* * *

 

Asami was late on purpose. She had agreed to meet Mako in a nearby café around four o’clock and it was half past four now. She didn’t want to get stood up by him. If she couldn’t see him sit in the café from the window, than she would move on.

As she approached the café she saw Mako almost immediately. He hadn’t changed a bit. His hair was the same length and he still wore the red scarf from his dad. The only difference was his arm hanging in a sling. It made Asami’s heart pound louder as she entered the establishment. Old emotions, good and bad surged through her veins.

“Hi there.” She said, happy that her voice came out right. Mako looked up and smiled.

“Asami, wow. You haven’t changed one bit.” He said with surprise in his voice. Asami sat down across from him as a waitress came to get her order.

“An expresso please.” The waitress nodded and left again.

“You’re off the tea?” Mako asked with a knowing smile.

“When days get crazy, yes.” Asami answered, slightly alarmed by how easy it was to feel comfortable around Mako again.

“So you wanted to talk?” Mako asked, taking a sip from his water.

“Yes, I need closure.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for typos or grammatical mistakes. I didn't have a lot of time to correct this chapter thoroughly, maybe I will later, but I really wanted to publish this now, since I have a busy week ahead of me and this chapter was waiting on my computer for a while now XD


	4. Rise High to Fall Down

 “Closure?” Mako asked, furrowing his brow. Of course he knew Asami was here to talk about their past, but closure sounded a bit too heavy.

“There are things I need to get off my chest. We never talked about it.” Asami continued, friendly accepting the espresso the waiter put on the table.

“Because you disappeared.” Mako whispered as soon as they were alone again. “We would have talked about it if you hadn’t cut us out.” Asami closed her eyes and coughed lightly in her hand, trying to control the anger rising in her stomach. After everything Mako has done to her, he was angry that she had cut him out of her life!?

“I did, but you could have looked for me. I found your address, didn’t I?” Asami said calmly, although there was a trace of blame in her voice.

“Fine, let’s not point fingers. I just don’t know what to say to you…”

“Maybe ‘sorry’?” Asami cut right in, annoyance dripping from her words.

“Of course I’m sorry, but that was years ago. Now you write me out of the blue to revisit it all!? I don’t understand this. You’re just some stranger to me now!” Mako instantly regretted his words when he saw a dark cloud lowering over Asami’s face. He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but to be honest, he would have been fine if Asami never had contacted him ever again. At least then he could pretend that she was happy somewhere and his actions hadn’t hurt her too much. Now, confronted with his ex-lover, someone who had been a big part of his childhood, he felt the guilt and hurt again. He wanted it to stop. Maybe Asami wanted closure, but what about his closure?

“This was a mistake.” Asami simply stated. She threw her espresso back and stood up to leave.

“Wait! Don’t go. I am sorry.” Mako sighed.

“Why? You are obviously done with the past. Maybe I should work on that as well.”

“Bolin, he wants to see you.” The mention of her old friend brought a new ache to Asami’s heart. She slowly sat down again.

“How is he?”

“Good. He is studying to become a veterinarian.” A smile tucked at Asami’s lips. She remembered how Bolin struggled through high school and the endless hours of tutoring Asami had given him. He was a smart man, he only needed more time to figure things out for himself.

Mako saw Asami smile by the mere mention of his brother. They had been close friends, but the bad ending of Mako’s and Asami’s relationship had killed that friendship.

“I am sorry. I really am. But you were never around.” Mako started softly, turning Asami’s smile upside down.

“So that made it okay?” She grumbled.

“No, but it didn’t make it easy. There was always a business meeting or a business trip of two weeks or so you needed to attend! You never really called on those trips and I thought you didn’t care anymore. I am not a fancy man and I was never going to be part of that world. The fancy hotels and parties. That was your future, not mine.”

“I had to work. I never cared that you didn’t like suits or didn’t have a taste for caviar. I don’t even like caviar that much.”

“Come on, you never thought of leaving? Those trips took weeks and you would only call me a couple of times. You want to tell me that you never had gotten attention from a man or woman on those…”

“What the hell Mako!? Is that what you think? That I slept around!? Should I remember you to the fact that you, not me, cheated on me for weeks!?” Asami’s raised voice caught the attention of the people around them. Awkward stares were turned away when Asami met them with a glare.

“I know, I know.” Mako said softly, trying to calm the storm. “My point is that I didn’t know what you were doing. Most of the time it felt like I didn’t have a girlfriend. It made my relationship with Kor…” Mako shut himself up before he spilled too much.

“You can talk about Korra.” Asami said hesitantly. When she found out that Mako was cheating on her for weeks with a girl called Korra, she swore that she never wanted to know anything about that woman. Someone who broke up a relationship like that wasn’t a good person. Now however that all had changed. Korra was the only reason Asami was here, at least that was what she told herself.

“She was simple.” Mako sighed.

“Simple?” Asami asked in a bemused tone.

“Not intelligent wise, I mean character wise. She knew what she wanted, she said what she thought and did what she said. You were always such a mystery to me.”

“I tend to shut people out…” Asami murmured to herself.

“Korra said she loved me and thought we needed to be together. You were already gone for a month for some merger and I didn’t turn Korra down. For that I am sorry, but I had a feeling that we were already breaking up.” Asami closed her eyes and let the words wander through her mind. Over the years she had analysed her break up with Mako. Mako had been her future and in that time she loved him so much. Finding out that he had been cheating on her nearly destroyed her. On top of that she also found out that he had been using her for information, but that was something else altogether.

She remembered how she made over-hours and took on every business trip she could get her hands on. Not to leave Mako behind, but to move up as CEO of Future Industries as soon as possible. She didn’t necessarily liked the business side of her father’s company, she much preferred engineering, but the business would give her a better and more stable income. Her plan was to make promotion as soon as possible so she and Mako could settle down and never had to worry about the future ever again. She could help the brothers with whatever they wanted out of life. It was her only motivation and one phone call of her friend had destroyed that dream.     

“We didn’t last long, not that that is any consolation.” Mako decided to break the silence. “Apparently I’m difficult to deal with as well.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be that high strung?” Asami said, humour and friendliness entering her speech again.

“Yeah, that’s definitely something Korra would say to me.” Mako laughed and then looked shocked at Asami. “Sorry I keep talking about her.”

“Don’t worry. It’s okay. I wanted closure right? I should be able to hear you talk about her.”

“She’s still a friend, so it’s harder to shut up about her.” Mako freely admitted. “So, how have you been? What have you been doing?” And just like that the conversation slipped into a new level of comfort. The guilt and pain were still lingering around in Asami’s heart, but it became gradually harder to hold on to it as she shared some stories with Mako. In the end she wanted this to work out, to get a grip on her life again. Mako wasn’t a bad guy and God knew Asami needed a friend.

 

* * *

 

Korra grunted and fell backwards on her bed. After the dead-end they reached in their investigation  with Kai, Korra had a long day of fact checking. It brought them nothing, making the work tedious and useless.

Korra heard a grunt beside her and turned her head to look into brown eyes.

“I’m sorry Naga. I want to play too, but if I don’t sleep now I might get a psychotic breakdown.” Korra excused herself towards her dog as she pulled off her shoes. “Next day off we are going to spend the whole day in the park!” Korra promised. Naga wagged her tail and barked happily.

Just when Korra fell back down on the bed to sleep for real this time, her phone started to ring.

“No! What does a girl have to do to get some sleep!?” Korra grunted, grabbing at the offending device. ‘Opal’ was written across the display and Korra knew she better answer it. It could be important to the investigation.

“Please don’t tell me Iroh wants a last minute stakeout.” Korra grunted in her phone.

“No, we are free tonight.” Opal answered, sounding as energetic as always. _How does she do that? Is she a vampire or something?_ Korra wondered slightly alarmed. “I have other news you might not like though.” Opal’s voice turned serious.

“Okay, well let’s hear it.” Korra answered, stifling a yawn.

“You asked me to check on Asami Qadira.” And like that all sleep disappeared from Korra’s body. She sat up straight, pushing the phone a little harder against the side of her face.

“Yes… something came up?” There was a shiver in Korra’s voice, scared that Asami might actually be a bad person.

“The opposite of that.”

“What?”

“Hardly anything came up. I asked my friend for a superficial background check, but he couldn’t find anything. He dug deeper and also came up empty handed. The only things known about her is her address and her job at Varrick Global Industries.”

“She also invented the electrical motor.” Korra added.

“Really!? Wow. Well, that is something that will be all over the internet right? It didn’t came up in her profile.” Korra frowned, trying to fit all the puzzle pieces together. Asami lying about inventing the electrical motor was the least worrying of this news.  

“How does someone become so secretive?” Korra asked out loud.

“She must have bought it with a lot of money. That’s the kind of era we live in. Rich people get to buy privacy.” Asami was definitely not poor, if her apartment was anything to go by. But why would she buy so much privacy. “Listen, she could just be protective of her herself, which is no crime. I’m sorry if I messed anything up between you two.”

“It’s okay. Thanks.”

“Sleep tight and try talking to her.” Opal sounded worried.

“I will, see you tomorrow.” Korra hung up and stared at the ceiling. She tried to remember all the things she knew about Asami. She knew where Asami lived, her phone number, her favourite colour, her love for machinery, her favourite movie genre. Korra realized now it were all small things that created the illusion of knowing Asami, while all the crucial things like her parents, her friends, the schools she went to, were left out. Besides that Korra recalled the weird interior of Asami’s apartment, there was definitely something off there. And then to add up the way Asami kept putting off their date.

Without much thinking Korra opened her messenger app, scrolling towards Asami’s name. She didn’t even know what to say, but she knew she wanted some contact with Asami. Otherwise Korra would just feel like a fool for falling so hard for a woman who wasn’t real.

‘Hi’ was the only thing Korra send.

‘Hello’ Asami answered almost immediately, making Korra sit up again.

‘Are you up?’

‘Yes, I actually wanted to talk to you, but I thought you were sleeping :P.’ Korra’s eyebrows rose. That message would have sent her heart soaring, but know she only wondered if Asami was playing her again.

‘I am awake’ Korra said matter-of-factly.

‘I want to go on that date, if you’re still into me ;). I finally got around clearing my agenda. How about tomorrow?’ Korra couldn’t believe her eyes. Just as she started to question everything about Asami, she was now willing to go on a date.

“What the hell?” Korra whispered as Naga whimpered beside her.

‘I can’t tomorrow. Birthday party of a friend.’ Korra answered. It was the truth. Tomorrow Mako had his birthday. Korra saw that Asami was typing something, but then she stopped again. _I should ask her if she can go another time. Like Opal said, there can be a million reasons why Asami is so private. It doesn’t have to be bad._

‘Cool! See you tomorrow!’ A new message appeared.

“What!?” Korra’s fingers started to type again.

‘No, I am sorry, but I can’t tomorrow. I am at my friend’s party.’ Korra corrected Asami’s mistake only to find out she was offline now. With a sigh Korra fell down again. Her body was still exhausted, but her mind was working overtime. Opal’s news had put a dent in Korra’s view of Asami, but deep down inside Korra wanted Asami to be real. And Korra feared that she needed Asami to be real.

“Am I an idiot for trusting her?” Korra asked her loyal companion. Naga sniffed loudly and laid her head down on her paws. Korra closed her eyes. Why does everything has to be so complicated?

 

* * *

 

Asami felt her phone vibrating in her hand. Her consciousness had to wrestle through several layers of fogginess and headache before she could open her eyes and realize what was going on. She was lying sprawled out on her bed, legs dangling of the edge. She still wore her outfit from yesterday and Asami groaned when she realized her mascara was sticking to her pillow.

“Yeah, hello?” She said as she automatically picked up her phone.

“Do you always sound like that on your day off?” Zhu Li asked. Asami coughed in response. Her throat and mouth were like a desert, making it hard to talk.

“I kind of had a rough night.” Asami mumbled, trying to pull herself together to have a normal conversation.

“I know you have a long weekend, but I need you to go over some files I’ve sent you. It concerns the budget for the Hummingbird and some adjustments to your knew sports car designs. The results from the prototypes are in  and we need your feedback as soon as possible.” Zhu Li’s voice droned through the phone.

“Fine, I will get to it.” Asami said. Nausea was climbing from her stomach, but she pushed it back down in time.

“Have a nice weekend.”

“You too.” Asami said before hanging up. _Ugh, how much did I drink last night?_ Asami started to wonder now. Her limbs were heavy and her head was on the edge of exploding. After her talk with Mako, she actually had felt very good. They had cleared the air somewhat and renewed their friendship. She had celebrated with some drinks in a bar. Soon after that Asami recalled that she started to feel bad. Remembering things that she and Mako hadn’t talked about. She went home and had more drinks to forget that. After that her mind was a blank, although Asami had a feeling that something else of significance had occurred.

With a lazy finger Asami unlocked the display of her phone. _One new message_ Asami read on the top of the screen. She immediately opened it, being sure that the clue to what she was missing was in that message.

‘No, I am sorry, but I can’t tomorrow. I am at my friend’s party.’ Asami read the message from Korra a few times and scrolled back up to read the rest.

“Oh God in heaven no!” Asami yelped as she started to remember. She returned to her other conversations and found the dreaded message from Mako she had received during her drunk conversation with Korra last night.

‘Hey Asami. We had a good talk. Maybe it’s too soon, but Bolin really wants to see you and tomorrow is my birthday. So I thought that maybe you wanted to come over for a drink and to say hi to Bolin. I know it’s last minute and Korra will be there as well, so maybe you’re not up for it. That’s cool. Just, if you want to you’re welcome.’ Asami had responded to that message with: ‘Yeah! Cool! Will def be there.’ After that she proudly had send Korra a message saying she will see her tomorrow, leaving the poor woman in total confusion.

“What the hell is wrong with you!? This is exactly what you wanted to avoid!” Asami yelled at herself in anger. She wanted to sit Korra down and confess that she knew who she was all along before they went any further. Having to explain herself to Korra in the middle of her ex-boyfriend’s birthday party wasn’t ideal, to say the least. She needed to contact Korra before tonight. _Or you could bail on the party._ The thought was enticing but she shook her head. Despite her messed up relationship with both Mako and Korra, she really wanted to see Bolin. He had been such a good friend to her and she didn’t want to hurt or disappoint him ever again.

With a sigh Asami dialled Korra’s number while walking towards the bathroom. _Get your shit together Sato._ She scolded herself once more.

 

* * *

 

“I found a café just downtown where Ping was spotted a couple of times. It could be a cover-up café for triads. We should check it out, maybe you can convince Iroh to go there. Korra? Korra!” Opal yelled from across the table. Korra looked up from her mobile phone.

“What was that?”

“Only me trying to crack a case. Nothing important.” Opal said, taking a sip from her coffee. Korra locked the display of her phone and laid it on the table.

“I’m all ears.”

“Who was that? Asami?” Opal asked flat out, making Korra choke on her sandwich.

“Can you stop investigating me? You’re freaking me out.” Korra said with a glare. She started to hate Opal’s on point remarks.

“Did you talk to her already?” Opal continued, ignoring Korra’s comment.

“No… She had sent me a weird text yesterday and now she’s trying to call me. I don’t know…” Korra woke up with a bad feeling about Asami. It could be that there was a good explanation of why the woman was so mysterious, but Korra didn’t like the imbalance. She had jumped right in with Asami, without knowing anything crucial about her. She had made up an imaginary future with her and after Opal’s eye opener Korra felt ashamed and foolish.

“Hey, give her a chance. It’s not like I found out she’s a murderer or something.” Opal tried to reassure Korra. She didn’t mean to nip Korra’s relationship in the bud.  

“So, a café right?” Korra changed the subject.

“Uhm… yes. Can you check it out with me tonight? I know it’s Friday, but there might be a clue there.”

“Sorry, it’s Mako’s birthday today and he’s celebrating it tonight.”

“Right, I knew that.” Korra didn’t miss the disappointment in Opal’s voice.

“You knew?”

“Yeah, I kind of remember all of your birthdays as well as addresses and phone numbers. In case something happens at work.” Opal fleetingly explained.

“Do you want to come tonight?” Korra carefully asked. This was the first time Opal lost her air of confidence. _Maybe she doesn’t have a lot going on besides work…_

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose. I can still check some other places that the triads might visit or…”

“Okay, that’s it. You’re coming to Mako’s party. You need a break from work.” Korra insisted.

“What if he doesn’t want me there?”

“Are you kidding? You’re his new teammate, he has to like you.” Korra smiled at Opal.

“Alright, if you’re sure he wouldn’t mind I would love to meet him.” Opal gave in and Korra didn’t miss the shy and happy smile on Opal’s face.

 

* * *

 

 _Alright, you can do this. Worst case scenario, someone will murder you… They are cops, they won’t. Or they will definitely find a way to dispose of your body. Okay, stop! Korra is not going to murder you. You face your problems and don’t walk away from them!_ Asami’s inner dialogue was getting out of control for a while now. After trying to call Korra several times and sending her messages begging for her to pick up, all Asami had received was a cold shoulder. She had wondered why Korra would be angry. Maybe Mako had mentioned that she was his ex and Korra felt betrayed.

Asami let out a shivering breath. She had a couple of drinks to give herself some Dutch courage and to steady her head. It was slowly working and cautiously she pressed the buzzer.

“Come on up.” Mako’s voice emerged from the speaker as the door started to buzz. Asami pushed it open and tried to empty her mind as she made her way up.

“Hi there.” Mako was waiting in front of his door. When Asami walked up to him he didn’t move to let her in. He looked nervous.

“Hi. Something amiss?” She asked, standing still in front of Mako.

“Listen, I didn’t know if you’d show up.”

“You thought I would bail?” Asami asked with a raised eyebrow, although she really couldn’t blame Mako for thinking that since she almost did bail.

“Yeah, so I haven’t told Bolin you would be here or Korra for that matter. Which might make things tense.” Mako continued. He was second guessing his decision to invite Asami on such short notice.  He just really felt good about their talk yesterday and didn’t want Asami to slip away again.

“Right. I am kind of prepared for that. Here, I bought you a present.” Asami continued, giving a small wrapped up gift. Mako took it with surprise and tore the paper off. It was a small notebook with a leather cover and a small pen tucked away in the back. “I remember you liked taking notes. Sorry if it’s a lame present.” Asami apologized.

“Wow, this is great. Thanks Asami. Bolin and Korra gave me a bottle of Sambuca and three tickets to a theme park, which is more for them than for me. So this might be the first thoughtful present.” Mako explained. Asami couldn’t help but snicker at the poor choices of gifts. Mako laughed with her, knowing that Bolin and Korra couldn’t help themselves.

“Hey Bro, who’s there.” Asami heard a familiar voice. As she looked up she locked eyes with a surprised Bolin. “Asami! O my God!” Bolin screeched, running up towards her and crushing her in a hug.

“Wow, hi Bolin. It’s good to see you too!” Asami laughed at the broad man twirling her around.

“You grew!” Bolin remarked as he put Asami down in the hallway so Mako could close the door behind them.

“That would be the heels. But you did grow, look at those arms.” Asami nudged him on the upper arm.

“I work at the docks, loading and unloading boxes. Free fitness!” Bolin said through his smiles.

Asami wanted to make another witty remark when she saw someone else standing in the doorway.

“Asami?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Ah! First!” Korra yelled as her kart pushed Bolin’s kart into the dunes. A disappointed Yoshi screamed through the television.

“Cheat!” Bolin yelled back as Mako rolled his eyes and swirled around the accident with his motorcycle. His arm was aching a little, but he ignored it. He had decided it had healed and he would go back to work on Monday. Before all the laps were finished the buzzer of the door went.

“I’ll get it.” Mako announced as Korra paused the game.

“I thought we said no shortcuts.” Korra said turning to Bolin.

“That was not a shortcut, but an alternative road.” Bolin retorted when Mako left the room. “Who could that be?” Bolin asked.

“I don’t know, maybe Opal. Although she said she would be running a little late.” Korra said, shrugging her shoulders and taking a swig from her beer. There were never a lot of people on Mako’s parties, only she and Bolin and sometimes some other colleagues. Mako wasn’t a big fan of birthday parties and this year Korra actually didn’t mind a quiet gathering. Just a fun night with her closest friends was all she needed.

“He’s taking his time. I going to see who it is.” Bolin decided after a while. He stood up and walked off as Korra sunk deeper into the couch. She was still pretty exhausted, since her mind hasn’t let her sleep that much yesterday.

“Asami!” Bolin’s voice made Korra perk up. _Did he just say… No… I’m imagining things. I need more sleep._

“look at those arms…” Another voice emerged from the corridor. Korra swallowed as she recognized that sweet, slight hoarse voice. Her feet brought her automatically to the hallway where she stood frozen as she saw her best friends standing around the woman who plagued her dreams.

“Asami?” Korra didn’t mean to sound so weak.

“Korra… Hi.” Asami turned to her and fiddled uneasy with her fingers.

“You two know each other?” Mako asked with a surprised look.

“Oooh… Is this super awkward?” Bolin asked worried, realizing the kind of  situation they were in.

“No, it’s not awkward. We bumped into each other a couple of times. It’s okay, right?” Asami tried to explain and gauge how Korra was feeling about all this. Apparently Mako hadn’t told Korra about their relationship.

“I… We… Yeah. We are good.” Korra stuttered, still processing. _Who is Asami to Mako and Bolin? How long does she know them? Why haven’t Mako or Bolin ever said something about Asami? Why hasn’t Asami said anything?_ The uncomfortable silence in the hall was interrupted with a low meow and an uncharacteristic yelp from Asami.

“Pabu!” Asami said, folding the chubby red cat into her arms to lift him up. Pabu purred as if it welcomed a long lost friend. Korra stared at the display. Pabu was the shy and somewhat nervous cat of Bolin. It took Korra weeks to even see the animal and whenever she reached out to Pabu he would scratch her or bite her. After months the cat was kind of used to Korra, but was still sparse with its appearances and here was Asami, hugging the cat without a problem.

“He got a little fat… Not really a poster pet for a vet.” Bolin grinned, scratching Pabu behind its ears while it snuggled closer to Asami’s neck.

“I heard about you wanting to become a veterinarian, that’s so cool.” Asami smiled. Korra registered that this was the first time she saw Asami genuinely happy, which made the question marks in her head grow even bigger.

“Well, let’s not stand here all night.” Mako announced and he led the group of friends to the living room. Asami put Pabu down and glanced over at Korra. Korra was still staring at her and Asami felt guilty. She totally blindsided Korra with showing up.

“So can I get you something to drink? Maybe a piece of cake?” Mako asked as Korra and Asami settled down on the couch.

“Hmmm… glass of wine?” Asami decided.

“You have to taste the cake, I will cut you a piece!” Bolin said, giddy from seeing his old friend. The brothers left for the kitchen and when they closed the door Asami immediately turned to Korra.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you that Mako is my ex as well. I wanted to, but there was a lot of stuff that wasn’t resolved and I wanted to wait. But I never meant to hurt your feelings or surprise you like this.” Asami blurted out.

Korra looked at her with a void expression until some words stuck in her mind.

“Wait, what? He’s your ex?”

“Yes, I was the other woman. Or you were… What is important..”

“And of course shots!” Bolin announced as he put a shot glass beside the plate of cake in front of Asami, cutting of her conversation with Korra.

“Oh, shots already?” Asami remarked.

“We’re playing drunk Mario Kart.” Bolin explained.

“Not my idea.” Mako declared, but Asami could see an hint of a bemused smile.

“You have to see Asami play Korra. She is unbeatable!” Bolin grabbed an extra controller and handed it over to Asami. “So the rules are, everyone takes a shot before the traffic light hits green and the one who ends last needs to take another shot.”

“I remember playing karts, but never with the alcohol.” Asami said surprised, while trying to remember what all the buttons did.

“Now we’re older.” Bolin grinned.

“But apparently none the wiser.” Mako commented.

“So you always win?” Korra asked, returning from her stupor. Asami looked at her and saw challenge in her eyes.

“If Bolin says so.” She smiled.

“Ah! Let’s see about that.” Korra laughed while remembering that she should leave the drama for later. She poured everyone’s glass full and threw hers back. The rest followed her. Asami saw Korra’s eyes focus on the screen in front of her. _For someone claiming to not drink hard liquor she sure seems to be able to hold her drinks._ Asami casually thought as the countdown started.

The first two races Asami lost and needed to take two extra shots. But after that she started to win every game, to Korra’s frustration.

“Okay, I’m out. My head spins and I don’t condone drunk driving.” Mako grumbled, walking to the kitchen to get snacks.

“I want another race!” Korra said giving Asami a fierce look. The alcohol was making her competitive. Asami couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Are you sure?”

“Yup! I’m still here.” Bolin said, sitting straight up again. Asami didn’t know how long Mako’s party was going to last if they continued to drink at this pace.

Just before Asami could start another game her phone started to buzz. She looked at the display and groaned. This couldn’t be good.

“Be right back.” Asami mumbled, walking to the hallway.

“This is a pretty awesome evening.” Bolin whispered to Korra.

“I’m glad you enjoy yourself.” Korra laughed at her more than tipsy friend.

“Asami is awesome. I missed her.”

“She is. So… how long ago did you guys meet her?” Korra was curious to ask. The fact that Mako and Bolin knew Asami was shocking, but Korra tried to focus on the positive side. If her friends liked Asami, than Asami was a good person.

“Years ago! I wasn’t even in high school yet.” Korra bit her lip. _She was the other woman…_

“I have to go. I’m so sorry. I had a great time. Bye Mako!” Asami yelled into the general direction of the kitchen. Before anyone could react Asami was gone as sudden as she had come.

“That.. was unexpected.” Bolin said with a hint of disappointment.

“Yeah.” Korra mumbled, feeling the disappointment as well. “She has a busy job, so it’s probably not personal.”

“Was nice to say hi though.” Bolin said as he lulled backwards against the couch.

 “Okay, I guess it’s time to sober up a little before the other guests arrive.” Korra laughed, as she stood up to get them some soda drinks.

 

* * *

The engine revved dangerously as Asami took a sharp turn. Every muscle in her body was tense. Tears pricked in her eyes, not from sadness, but from frustration. Just as she started to feel happy and whole again the world threw her another curve ball. This time in the form of her father reaching out.

“I should have ignored him!” She yelled, slamming her fist on the steering wheel as she made another sharp turn on a rural road. She wanted to cut him out of her life, but he always knew how to find her.

“If he wants to talk, we will talk! I will tell him.” Asami was fuming. The drinks at Mako’s party had more effect on her than she had realised. It made her bold and driving to see her father to push him out of her life forever made her heart jump. _I can start anew. With my friends back, with my mother, without him!_ With that last angry thought she pulled on the wheel and made another turn. The speed made the car sway out to the other side of the road and in a fraction of a second white headlights were blinding Asami’s eyes.

Asami didn’t exactly know what had happened. One moment she was driving, the other moment there was a bang and the smell of gasoline and smoke. Her body ached and she felt herself slip out of her crumpled car onto the wet ground. Her vision was blurry and something wet was dripping over her face. Her stomach retracted as she heard voices.

“Oh my! Call an ambulance. Madam, are you okay!?” Someone towered above Asami, but she couldn’t tore her eyes from the smoking wreck in front of her. A weird mix of metal and wood.

“Madam.” The world started to spin harder. Asami closed her eyes. She must be dreaming. This was not real. This couldn’t be real.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for reading!


	5. The After Party

The soft beeps of the monitor kept her awake. Asami heard the muffled voices behind the door as she sat in an hospital bed. Her view was foggy. _Must be the painkillers._ Asami thought, but knew that some of it was the effect of the crash and abuse of her body. Was this how it felt to hit rock-bottom? Asami figured that it could be worse, but she wasn’t exactly sure how.

“Asami…” Zhu Li said as she walked into the room and sat down next to the bed. Asami could make out the silhouettes of the police officers, who had questioned her, behind the door.

“You are very lucky.” Zhu Li continued, a stern look on her face.

“I feel super lucky.” Asami didn’t show any emotion on her face or in her voice. She felt empty. Somehow she thought she would be on the verge of crying, but the tears never came. Instead a deep feeling of indifference hollowed her out.

“The family you almost drove off the road isn’t charging you.” Zhu Li continued, ignoring Asami’s sarcastic remark. “I’m happy that they called me as soon as you were in the hospital. I was able to stop the media before they caught on to this news, so nothing will be in the newspapers tomorrow. Your license is however suspended, since your blood alcohol content was way above the legal level.” Asami flinched slightly. Sure, she could have gone to jail, but losing her license was another kick in the teeth. She lived for cars, planes, motorcycles, any kind of vehicle really. And now she wasn’t allowed to drive anymore.

“Also Varrick Global Industries has decided to give you a leave of absence for at least a month. Besides that you need to attend an AA group or else you will get fired.”

“What?” This news finally coaxed a reaction from Asami. “I can’t do that!”

“Asami…”

“I’m not an alcoholic. I’ve got this under control. Last night I was unstable because of my father.”

“Asami, listen!” Asami closed her mouth and for the first time she felt tears prickle in her eyes. “Go to the AA meeting or lose your job. I think it’s a no-brainer. And as a friend…” Zhu Li’s expression softened into worry. “I beg you to go. It’s not the first time I suspected alcohol on your breath. You need to get yourself together. I already take care of one insane genius.”

“So you’re scared that I drink myself to stupidity?”

“No, but I do need you to get sane again.” Asami let out a restrained chuckle. Zhu Li smiled and grabbed Asami’s hand. “You are allowed to go home, since your injuries are minor.”

“Lucky me…” Asami sighed, but Zhu Li ignored her again.

 “Is there someone you can call to take care of you while you’re at home?”

“There’s… No… I can’t. I don’t need anyone.”

“Asami! You almost killed yourself. Someone needs to be with you. Now give me the phone number of the person you hesitated about and I will call them and give them the details. And do the universe a favour and lean on somebody for once, will you?” Zhu Li’s harsh tone returned and Asami nodded weakly.

“Alright. I will inform the doctor and then we are out of here. Hospitals make me cringe.” Zhu Li stated and walked off. Asami loudly breathed out and pushed her head back into the pillow. _AA meeting…_ It was resonating through her thoughts. Another fact to proof she had lost her way.

 

* * *

 

 

_How much did I drink last night?_ Korra wondered as she stood by the tap in the kitchen to pour herself another glass of water. There were empty bowls and glasses scattered around the house, only contributing to Korra’s hangover. It had been ages since she had drunk so much, apparently she needed it.

“Good mormusning.” Bolin mumbled as he walked into the kitchen. His hair was dishevelled and his eyes weren’t fully open yet.

“Wow, from which grave did you arise this morning?” Korra chuckled, happy that there was someone worse off than she.

“A mat I found in the spare room.” Bolin spoke softly as not to make the pounding in his head worse.

“Really? Why?” Korra asked. If Korra knew Bolin was going to be too drunk to reach his bed, she would have slept there instead of on the hard couch in the living room.

“Because… Because!” Bolin said, pushing Korra away from the sink so he could also fill a glass with water.

“Because?” Korra asked further.

“Serious Korra? The one day I am not in the mood for morning talk you are uncharacteristically chatty?” Bolin said bringing his glass to his mouth. Before he could drink, the glass was snatched from his hand. Mako downed it in one big gulp before handing it back to his brother.

“What the!? Why!?” Bolin dramatically yelped.

“Good morning. Has anyone seen my sneakers?” Mako asked, he was pulling his jacket on.

“By the television.” Korra said, following Mako into the living room. Mako spotted his shoes and sat down on the couch to put them on.

“Crazy night last night.” Korra said, crossing her arms.

“Yeah. I didn’t know Bolin had invited so many friends.”

“His friends, yes. And old friends.” Korra continued fishing for some information about someone in particular.

“Sure, I guess.” Mako’s tone indicated that he wasn’t listening. “I’m off. Will be back for dinner.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“Hmmm… friend. Groceries?”

“Friend or groceries?” Korra raised one eyebrow. Why was everybody being weird this morning?

“Whatever. Vegetables are your friends, so in a way they are the same. Bye!” Mako yelled to his brother in the kitchen before leaving the apartment. Korra sat down with a huff.

“Where is he going?” Bolin asked as he returned from his hydration session.

“To his vegetable friends.”

“Okay.” Bolin said without batting an eyelash while he sunk down next to Korra. It was silent and the friends enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere dawning on the room.

“I can’t now, I’m not at home! Well ask mom… Then ask dad!” A voice disturbed the silence. Korra felt Bolin flinch.

“That is strange. I swear I can hear the voice of my lovely colleague coming from your bedroom.” Korra said with a bemused smile.

“You’re crazy. Must be your hangover.” Bolin poorly covered up as he sprinted away to said bedroom. Korra grinned. _Totally worth the headache._ She thought to herself.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, you must be Mako. Come in.” Asami heard Zhu Li say. She sighed and turned towards the door. She was lying on the sofa in her living room. An uneasy feeling of shame washed over her as she saw the door open.

“Asami.” Mako said, as if he needed to confirm Asami’s identity.

“Hi…” Asami said softly as she pushed herself up to sit.

“I compiled a list of groceries. There is not a lot in the house.” Zhu Li interrupted, handing Mako a piece of paper from her clipboard. Asami tried to look apologetic, knowing that Zhu Li was a force of nature that couldn’t be stopped. “She also needs some things for her broken arm, like a sling and a plastic sleeve for showering. I put those items on the bottom. She can’t really walk because of a sprained ankle so you have to make her diner before you go.”

 “Uhm… okay.” Mako looked overwhelmed, nodding at everything Zhu Li was telling him.

“Good, you can call me if something isn’t clear. And you.” Zhu Li turned towards Asami. “You need to sleep and take your injuries serious. Don’t worry about the legal issues, I will deal with that, along with Varrick.”

“Yes, thanks.” Asami mumbled. She had no energy left to go against Zhu Li.

“Goodbye.” With that Zhu Li left the room. Mako and Asami kept staring at each other as they heard the front door close.

“You don’t have to do all that.” Asami told Mako as he looked over the paper in his hand.

“Who uses a clipboard nowadays?.” He remarked, which caused a small smile on Asami’s face. “She’s very intense.”

“She used to be in the military.”

“Ah, right. She must be a good assistant.”

“Oh, Zhu Li isn’t my assistant. She is my boss… or more the assistant of my boss. Let’s say Varrick Global Industries doesn’t run without her.”

“I can see why.” Mako smiled at the ridiculous detailed list in his hand before he looked at Asami again. “I don’t mind to go shopping for you.” Asami sighed, feeling that acid feeling of shame again.

“I’m so sorry. I… I bet you wish I was still a stranger to you now.” She spoke bitterly.

“No, I didn’t mean that when I said it. Yesterday I realised you’ve never been a stranger to me.” Asami nodded, feeling somewhat more comfortable. “Just tell me. How did this happen?”

“What did Zhu Li tell you?”

“That you were in an accident.” Asami swallowed. She couldn’t find the words. It was fresh in her memory, but somehow it was hard to believe it actually had happened. It was more of a nightmare that was lingering around in her head, but she couldn’t really put her finger on it.

“I crashed my car.” Asami’s voice was close to a whisper and her statement sounded more like a question. Mako knew what this meant. After his party she had driven her car while drunk. Something inside him wanted to shout, ask her how she could possibly be that stupid, but by the looks of her, Asami was already paying the full price.

“Were there any other causalities?” Mako asked carefully as not to sound blaming. Asami closed her eyes.

“No. I was the only one. They didn’t even press charges.” Asami wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or feel guilty about that fact.

“That’s something.” Mako said under his breath. “Good, let’s get you something to eat. Besides this very thorough list, is there something else you want?” Asami looked up at him. She saw Mako smile and doing his best to sound friendly, even though he must be judging her. Driving drunk wasn’t some minor felony. Still, he didn’t want to make it more awkward, so Asami played along.

“Tomato soup?” She tried, not knowing if she even deserved such comfort.

“You still like tomato soup?” Mako asked amused.

“Yes, it’s good food.”

“I recall you only like it because it’s your favourite colour.”

“So? Ooh, Red Vines. I haven’t had those in years.” Asami said with a new twinkle in her eyes.

“Serious, you’re weirder and more irrational than most people think.” Mako laughed. “I mean, I like the colour grey, but I sure don’t want to eat ash.”

“Having grey as your favourite colour is worse than to eat your favourite colour.” Asami argued.

“Watch it. Or else I won’t get you your strawberries.” Mako teased, stuffing the list in his pocket.

“Grey is pretty.” Asami smiled.

“Liar. See you in a second.”

“Mako… thanks.” Mako felt a shiver at the deep sadness in Asami’s ‘thanks’. There was clearly something wrong with her. Crashing her car, having no one else to call when in need. He couldn’t help but feel partly responsible.

“It’s nothing. See you in a bit.” Mako mumbled, leaving the room. Asami sighed again, sinking back into the couch. She stared at the ceiling, slipping back into her hazy state.

 

* * *

 

 

“So what is the plan?” Korra asked, while she moved her hand through her hair. It was Sunday and Opal had convinced Korra to check out the suspicious café with her. Korra didn’t like working on Sunday. It was her day off and she wanted to spend it with Naga in the park. The big white dog was now impatiently tugging on her leash.

“We go inside, see if we can find something weird. If we do we can present the proof to Iroh tomorrow.” Opal explained as she rummaged through her bag. “Here put these on.” She handed Korra a pair of big sunglasses.

“Why?”

“If there are prominent members of a Triad in there, then they would recognize us. Me because of my family and you because you're a legend.” The last comment was supposed to be a compliment, but it sent a cold shiver down Korra’s spine. Without any further complaints she put the sunglasses on. Korra didn’t need a mirror to know that she looked ridiculous.

“Let’s go.” Korra mumbled. She wanted to get this over with. Beside her need for a quiet afternoon, she also felt exhausted. Sleep hasn’t come easy to her, pining over a certain woman who didn’t return her calls or messages. Asami hadn’t even been online since Friday, which worried Korra more than she would like to admit. The way they had left things at Mako’s party was weighing down on her. She kept thinking of how much she had hurt Asami without even knowing it.

“Hey, let’s go.” Opal said.

“Oh, yes sorry. Sunday daydream.” Korra said, walking after Opal towards the café.

 It was dark inside. The only two windows were dirty and dusty, not letting a lot of light in. The furniture was old and fading. A large man stood behind the bar, wiping some pint glasses clean. He had brown skin and a tattoo on his arm, giving away his Northern tribe heritage. Somewhere in the back were four other men drinking in silence.

Opal walked up to the bar without hesitation.

“Good day.” She greeted the bartender. Korra followed her, dragging Naga along. The dog softly growled, taking every step with caution.

“No dogs.” The bartender said in a low voice once he had looked Korra and Opal over. Something about the man felt familiar to Korra. She might not be as smart and observing as Opal, but she had good instinct and this man had something to hide.

“We just want one round of drinks.” Korra answered, not breaking eye contact with the man. Korra sat herself down on a barstool. In this position she could lean further forward. She slowly removed her sunglasses.

“Three shots of Tiger Shark. You have those, don’t you?” Korra said, slowly forming every word. Opal raised her eyebrows. First she thought that Korra was just messing around, but then she saw the bartender flinch. Even the men in the back sat up a little straighter.

“Out of my bar.” The bartender said through his teeth.

“Alright. Have a nice day gentlemen.” Korra greeted while she put her sunglasses on again and hopped off the stool. Without making any haste she scratched Naga behind her ears. After that she leisurely walked out of the café with Opal in tow.

“What was that?” Opal asked.

“Later, first we need to get moving.” Korra picked up the pace and when Opal threw a glance over her shoulder she could see a man sticking his head around the corner of the cafe’s entrance. _That is definitely shady…_

 

* * *

 

 

It was quiet in the park beneath. Probably too early in the morning to go jogging or walking the dogs. A cool breeze blew through the window, carrying the sounds of the morning traffic. Mako took a sip from his coffee while enjoying the peace. This was way better than his apartment, although he felt slightly guilty for enjoying this so much while he was supposed to take care of Asami.

“So you lived here all along?” He asked, turning towards his friend. Asami sat on a lazy chair. Even though it was quite hot, she had blanket wrapped around her and Mako saw her shiver now and then. The omelet and tea he had made her for breakfast lay untouched on the salon table.

Mako had been taking care of her for only two days, but he saw Asami swiftly deteriorate. On Saturday they had joked and she had eaten Red Vines, although they made her nauseous in the end. Sunday she was less talkative and seemed to be lost in her thoughts for most of the time. Now it was Monday morning and she had barely spoken a word. She looked tired and distant.

“I mean it’s in the middle of the city. It embarrasses me that I haven’t seen you around earlier.” Mako continued as he sat across from her.

“I was hiding in plain sight. You never suspected to see me in the city, so you never did.” Asami was trying to smile friendly, but her voice was void of any emotion.

“That actually makes sense.” Mako contemplated as he drank the last of his coffee.

“Doesn’t Bolin wonder where you are?” Asami suddenly asked.

“A little bit. I haven’t told him.” Mako guessed that Asami didn’t want him to share the story of her accident, since it wasn’t one of her proudest moments. Still it surprised Mako that he hadn’t read about a car accident in the local newspapers. Not that he wished he had.

“That’s okay.” Asami looked at him while she was puzzling her next sentence together. “Have… you talked to Korra?”

“Yes, but only about work. Not about you. I don’t think she really cares about our relationship.” Mako said. The last thing Asami had to worry about was how Korra felt about her. They must have felt uncomfortable around each other due to their shared past, but Mako knew Korra was very forgiving, if there was anything she needed to forgive.

“No I know. It’s just… I don’t…”

“You don’t want people to know about this. I understand, I will keep my mouth shut.” Asami smiled, knowing she could trust Mako.

“I will tell them in time, just not right now.”

“It’s cool.” Mako stood up. “Is there anything you need from the shops? I can swing by later after work.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem.” Trying to help Asami started to feel like pulling teeth, but Mako wasn’t going to let Asami wither away in her big apartment all alone.

“I’m good.” She mumbled, turning a bit in her chair.

“Alright, then I will check up on you in the evening.” Mako decided as he walked to the kitchen to put his coffee cup in the sink. “See you!” He greeted, not expecting an answer. He softly closed the door behind him and made his way through the hall. Meanwhile he thought about Asami. Her sad eyes haunting him. _They weren’t exactly sad…_ Mako thought as he reached the exit. Before stepping outside he stopped. _They were empty…_ He had once seen eyes like that before and now he was doubting if he should leave Asami on her own or if he should call for more help. He shook off the thought and reassured himself that Asami was just in shock. _She will heal over time._

 

* * *

 

 

The canteen was as good as empty as Korra sat moping over a cup of tea. Usually she was the last one of her team to arrive at work in the morning, but today she was the first one. She had woken up way before her alarm. Sleep wasn’t an option and she had felt way too tired for an early run through the city with Naga. So she hoped the canteen at the police station would offer her some peace of mind.

Korra watched as some people shuffled in, looking for a simple breakfast. 

“You were right!” Korra nearly spilled her hot drink all over the tablet due to the loud and sudden voice.

“Jeez, Opal. What happened to 'good morning'.” She grumbled as Opal, who definitely was a morning person, took a seat across from her. She laid a thick dossier on the table.

“You're grumpy this morning.” Opal remarked.

“Yeah, haven’t had the greatest night.” Korra wasn’t lying. After investigating with Opal on Sunday, she had gone to the park. But what was usually a peaceful and relaxing day, turned out to be a day of worry. For hours Korra had stared at the tall building in which Asami lived, without having the guts to actually ring her bell. Her talk with Asami during Mako’s party hadn’t left her. She played the scenario over and over again. How she had pursued Mako while knowing he had a girlfriend. Images of Asami lying heartbroken on her bed and cursing Korra’s name had crept into Korra’s dreams. Worse of all, Korra still hadn’t been able to contact Asami. She couldn’t help but wonder if Asami had blocked her. _But why now? She knew all along._

“Korra, serious, your concentration span is shorter than that of an hamster.” Opal complained as she once again found her friend in an absent state.

“I'm here.” Korra said, hoping that work could sooth the ache she started to feel inside.

“So there are some reports on code language within the drugs Triads from the Southern water tribe, like you said yesterday.” Opal repeated herself. “Apparently ordering three shots of Tiger Shark is equivalent to ordering five grams of cocaine.”

“Sometimes other drugs, depending on the Triad.” Korra corrected Opal.

“You know a lot about it.”

“I sort of worked on a case involving the Triads back home.” Korra explained fleetingly.

“Alright, but here is where it gets interesting. These codes were held secret by the police, so Triads wouldn’t know the police could talk their language. Which means that normal civilians don’t know about Tiger Sharks and so these men in the café have to know what you meant through connections with the Triads.”

“That doesn’t proof anything. Maybe he was just annoyed by us. Maybe his family had picked up the code through other means. We don’t even know which Triad he would potential support. This is not going to lead us to the Agni Kai. Maybe to some pathetic drugs dealers, but not a top criminal organization.”

“Wow, your mood is really bad this morning.” Opal said, after Korra had shot down her findings.

“I'm sorry, but one angry bartender doesn’t get us anywhere.” Korra was getting tired of the dead-ends. She rather spared herself another disappointment.

“But we found a possible meeting place!” Opal threw back, determined to look at it on the bright side.

“What meeting place?” Mako strolled into the canteen and threw his jacket over the chair next to Korra.

“Mako, welcome back.” Korra smiled, happy that the team was together again.

“Yeah, so meeting place?” Mako said, feeling left out. He wanted to get back into the investigation as soon as possible.

“We checked a café yesterday and the bartender totally freaked out.” Opal summarized. Mako nodded in approval, although he didn’t really follow it. “How is the arm?” Opal asked next. She had met Mako on his party, but she hadn’t talked to him that long. So she was still trying to befriend him.

“It’s fine. Thanks for asking.”

“So, let’s go do some random fact checking.” Korra groaned, putting her empty cup aside ready to leave.

“What’s ruining your mood today?” Mako asked as he saw the immense frown on Korra’s face. He knew Korra hated mornings, but this was a bit too much, even for Korra.

“Why does everyone comment on my mood? I’m sorry that I didn’t throw tickertape in the air and sang you an happy tune when you walked in.” Korra said in an even worse mood. Mako rolled his eyes.

“I think she’s a little lovesick.” Opal teased, making the blood run out of Korra’s face.

“No I’m not.” Korra murmured.

“Really?” Mako said surprised.

“Yeah, how is As…” Opal started.

“You like Bolin!” Korra yelled, pointing at Opal. She needed to steer away from the topic or else Mako would find out about her and Asami and that would be beyond awkward.

“So? He’s nice.” Opal said, shrugging her shoulders. Even Mako wasn’t surprised at this fact. Opal had talked to Bolin most of the time when she was at his party. He even heard Bolin offer up his bed to her.

“Work people. We need to work.” Korra made another desperate attempt.

“Is this about that woman you said you had met?” Mako inquired further.

“Yes, still nothing new.” Korra tried again.

“Have you been able to contact Asami yet?” Opal asked innocently. A silence followed and Korra could see Mako’s face go from realization, to bafflement, to shock.

“Asami?” He asked softly.

“I didn’t know it was her. I just found out Friday.” Korra tried to explain. Mako stayed silent, obviously planning on what to say.

“What’s wrong? Is Asami bad news?” Opal asked, feeling the tension rise.

“Come.” Mako said determined as he grabbed Korra’s arm and led her to a quiet spot in the corridor. “You like Asami?”

“Yes…” Korra admitted in defeat.

“How?” The question was weird, but Mako was trying his best to understand this.

“We met at the hospital the day you got shot. The next day I walked into her at a diner. We talked and one thing led to another.”

“And Asami knew who you were?”

“Presumably yes.” Mako nodded. “Now that you know, have you talked to her lately? She doesn’t respond to my calls.” Mako gave her a blank stare. “I’m just worried that I might have upset her and I want to say sorry.”

“It’s not because of you.” Mako said, looking away as if he was doing something wrong.

“How do you know? She might have blocked me. She has all the reasons in the world to block me.” Mako shook his head.

“She has been in a car accident.”

“What!?”

“Calm down, she’s alright. She has some minor injuries. She’s home and probably doesn’t feel like socializing much at the moment.” Mako explained.

“How do you know all this?”

“She asked me to help her out. Do some groceries, cook, that sort of stuff. She sprained her ankle, so she can’t walk yet.”

“She asked you…” Korra said. She knew this was not the moment to get jealous. Asami had known Mako way longer and so it was logical for her to call him. Still Korra had wished that Asami had enlisted her help.

“Not really. Her co-worker kind of asked me.”

“I have to see her.”

“Korra…”

“No, I have to make this right.” Mako sighed, knowing that Korra wasn’t going to let this go.

“I have her key. Maybe you could check up on her after work. Make her something to eat.” Mako knew that he was seriously overstepping a line. He had promised Asami that he won’t tell anyone about her and now he was handing over the keys to her house. But Mako also knew Korra could be trusted. Besides, he figured that Korra would be able to help her better than he could. Sure he could cook for her, but he wasn’t good at all the mental stuff.

“Are you sure?” Korra asked.

“Yeah. I warn you though, she is not in a good place at the moment. Mentally I mean.”

“Is that suppose to reassure me?” Korra asked, not knowing if she would be able to wait after work to go visit Asami.

“Listen, Korra. I know you like her and Asami is a nice person, but…”

“But?” Korra asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Be careful.”

“Why?”

“Asami is a complicated person. I know you want a simple life and share it with somebody, but after everything with Zaheer…”

“This has nothing to do with Zaheer.” Korra cut him off.

“Alright.” Mako held his hands up in defeat.

“Hey, Iroh is here. We need to get going!” Opal yelled down the hall.

“Okay!” Mako answered before turning back to Korra. “Just know that you don’t have to save everyone.”

“I don’t  want to save everyone, just someone.” Korra said before walking towards her office.

 

* * *

 

 

The sound of a key in the front door woke Asami up from her stupor. She looked around the room in a daze. Right, she was home. On the flat screen the homepage of Netflix was displayed. She had been skipping through the titles without making a choice. Her breakfast was still waiting in front of her, the smell of the omelet made Asami want to gag.

_I promised myself to shower before Mako would get back._ Asami reminded herself dully, but she shrugged it off. Her day had slipped through her fingers without her noticing.

With a shaking hand she put the remote control on the salon table. The tremors had gotten worse, a constant reminder of the bad state her body was in. With a sigh she crossed her arms and tucked her hands safely away, so Mako wouldn’t see the shivers.

Asami closed her eyes, gathering her shattered mind to have a sort of normal conversation with her friend, which had become increasingly more difficult. Instead of an moderate ‘hello’, Asami’s attention was caught by a low woof. She opened her eyes just in time to see a large white ball charge at her.

“Wow, Naga! No! Down, girl! Bad dog!” Random shouts filled the room as Asami was ducking away to fend off the raging paws and wet tongue. Two strong arms pulled the beast away. When Asami dared to open her eyes again she saw a guilty looking Naga with Korra bending over her and wagging her finger. “Calm down or you won’t get your treat!” Naga whimpered and lied down with her head between her paws.

“I’m so sorry. Naga gets excited in new surroundings and I couldn’t leave her at home. The neighbor is on vacation.” Korra immediately apologized to the stunned Asami.

“Uhm… Okay…” Asami said unsure.

“Is it okay to have pets in this building? I couldn’t find any signs.” Korra continued.

“For the rent I’m paying I should be allowed to keep three cats, a herd of sheep and a parrot.” Asami deadpanned.

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.” Korra chuckled. Her eyes glided over Asami, making her smile disappear. Asami’s hair was ruffled and her clothes were oversized. Her face was paler than normal and her eyes were deep with dark rings underneath them. Besides that there were faint traces of bruising on the left side of her face and her lip had split on that side too. Her arm was in a sling and a slight tremble constantly running through her body gave her an overall fragile appearance.

“How are you?” The question was stupid and Korra immediately regretted asking it.

“Not so good. What are you doing here?” There was an hint of agitation in Asami’s voice and Korra swallowed.

“Mako gave me the key. I wanted to visit you as soon as I heard the news.” _So far for not telling anyone._ Asami thought. Normally she would get angry at such betrayal, but somehow she wasn’t even surprised by it anymore.

“Don’t blame him, I can be very persuasive if I want to.” Korra defended her friend as she sat down. Asami gathered her blanket tighter around herself, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I tried to contact you. I want you to know how sorry I am for what I did to you and Mako. I was a different person back then and I didn’t think of consequences and…” Asami closed her eyes. Was this the reason Korra was here? To apologize for something so far in the past?

“Korra stop.” Asami interrupted. “Can we talk about that another time?”

“Uhm.. of course.” When Asami looked at Korra again she saw a sad look on the woman’s face.

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, but I’m having an headache.” She explained.

“Oh, sorry. Sure. I was just worried that you hate me…” The last part had slipped out of Korra’s mouth and a faint blush covered her face. Somehow it was flattering for Asami to hear that Korra was worried about what Asami thought of her.

“I don’t hate you. Trust me, if I did you would have known.” Asami sighed, feeling the strength leave her body.

“Is that your breakfast?” Korra pointed to the cold plate in front of Asami. Asami gave a weak nod.

“Wow, he really took care of you. Let’s thank the heavens that Mako isn’t a nurse.” Korra said rolling her eyes as she took the plate. “Let me make you something light to eat.”

“You don’t have to. I’m okay.” Asami tried, feeling once again ashamed of her helpless state.

“It’s not a problem. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Naga.” Korra waved away her objection. “Kitchen is this way?” Another weak nod as an answer. When Korra left the room the silence returned, only now a big white dog was staring at Asami.

“Hello?” Asami said softly. Naga stood up and walked over to her to sit by her side as if she was guarding Asami. Asami ran her hand through the soft hair on Naga’s head.

“I heard of the healing effect an animal can have.” She told Naga who just panted and wacked her tail. Without a warning Asami’s eyes closed and she sank deeper into her chair. She wasn’t sure if it was Naga’s reassuring presence or the faint sounds from the kitchen that told her she wasn’t alone, but for the first time since the accident Asami felt secure. Her muscles relaxed and before the worrying thoughts could re-enter her brain, Asami drifted off into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry for the week delay, my computer crashed and I lost all my documents which meant I had to write this all over again. So that was a bummer, but here it is! Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading :)


	6. Small Steps

The sun was shining. The scent of freshly mowed grass filled the air. The open roof of the Cadillac made experience of summer complete. Asami hit the gas pedal to make the wind comb to her hair. 

“Asami, sweetheart, you need to slow down. What if you hit something?” Her mother asked from the backseat. Asami could see her face in the rear mirror. Even though she was complaining about the speed, Yasuko’s face was relaxed while she let the sun shine on her.

“Don’t worry Yasu, Asami got this.” Her father said beside Asami, smiling encouraging at her. With her father’s trust Asami sped up once more. The engine was revving happily.

“Don’t worry mom, it’s an empty road, nothing can happen.” Asami reassured her mother.

“I swear, you two are cut from the same cloth. Now the road looks clear, but who knows what can happen next?” Yasuko pointed out.

“Please, we’re having fun. It’s a nice day. Let’s just enjoy this.” Hiroshi answered, turning himself towards the backseat.

“Well, I will see you two at home then. I cannot take responsibility for this kind of behavior.” Yasuko decided.

“Please mom stay, I will slow down.” Asami gave in, but her mother was already gathering her things. Without another word she opened the door and stepped out of the Cadillac. Asami could see her standing at the side of the road, becoming smaller and smaller.

“Don’t be sad Sami. Now it’s you and me. Shall we see how fast this baby can go?” Hiroshi said. Asami was fixated on the black dot that was her mother and sighed.

“Sure.” She said. Without hesitation she pushed the gas pedal to the floor. It was a wonderful feeling, like they were flying.

“The world is ours.” Hiroshi laughed.

“It sure is.” Asami agreed. They were going so fast that their surroundings became a blur of green and blue. Asami closed her eyes, letting the wind guide her.

“It sure is.” She heard her father whisper as she suddenly felt his hand on top of hers on the steering wheel. With a quick pull he turned the wheel causing the car the swerve.

“What the hell!?” Asami screamed as she opened her eyes again. Her father was gone. She tried to keep the car on the road, but it kept zigzagging. In front of her, Asami saw a immense tree dooming up. The Cadillac made a beeline for it and Asami could hear glass shatter all around her. Sharp pieces cut her face open as clouds gathered in the blue sky, making the sun fade.

Asami gritted her teeth. Her heart was pounding fast when she heard another crash.

 

* * *

 

 

“Naga! What are you doing!?” Asami shot up. Her breath was labored and for a moment she thought she was still driving a car.

“Shit, you woke Asami up.” Korra cursed at her dog as Asami could hear the shrill sound of glass underneath Korra’s shoes. She saw her guest walk up to Naga. The dog wheezed and backed up.

“Come here.” Korra commanded and Naga stood still so she could grab its collar.

Asami felt her head spin. When her gaze fell on the floor she saw small pieces of glass. A deep frown formed on her forehead as the shards made her feel sick.

“Korra…” She whimpered.

“I’m so sorry. Naga didn’t mean to throw the glasses off the table. I will clean it up.” Korra apologized as soon as she returned from locking Naga in the hallway. It wasn’t safe for the dog to walk in a glass filled room.

“Korra… I need…” Korra looked up as she saw Asami become a sort of grey pale. Her head was turning on her shoulders and when her hands flew to her mouth Korra knew it wasn’t good.

“Shit! Wait, I’ll get you a bucket or something!” With the speed of light Korra ran to the kitchen and came running back with the trashcan. Asami eagerly grabbed it with her good hand and bended over. Korra gathered Asami’s hair while she rubbed Asami’s back with her other hand.

Usually Asami would be ashamed of the sounds that came out of her as she threw her guts up, but the nausea made her forget where she was or with who. It seemed to take an eternity before her stomach settled down. Just then she noticed a soft voice behind her.

“Shhh, it’s okay. Let it all out.” Korra whispered. Asami sniffed as tears ran down her face from the burning sensation in her throat. Korra took the trashcan and handed over the towel she had brought as well. Asami slowly wiped her face as her senses returned to her again.

“I’m sorry.” She groaned, sitting back.

“It happens, nothing that can’t be fixed.” Korra said as she kept running her hand up and down Asami’s back.

“There was a Cadillac and then I saw the glass.” Asami tried to explain, realizing how weird it sounded. Asami looked over her shoulder to see Korra nod with a serious look on her face, while it was obvious she couldn’t understand a word of what Asami was trying to say. “I just have these real intense dreams and when I wake up I don’t know what is real anymore. Yesterday I could swear I saw my mother watching television on the couch. She was whistling her favorite tune.” Asami didn’t know why she was telling all this. The hallucinations have been bothering her some time now, making her lose track of reality.

“Maybe you should go to the doctor again.” Korra said, now more worried than before.

“No, I can’t.” Asami swallowed. She knew exactly what was going on and it freaked her out. “It will pass.”

“If you say so.” Korra said with hesitation. She moved and threw the towel next to the trashcan on the floor. “Why don’t you freshen up as I clean the living room.” She proposed.

“Okay, I could use a shower.” Asami mumbled. She looked down on herself and saw the terrible t-shirt and worn-out jogging pants she was wearing. She looked like an homeless crazy person.

“Be careful were you walk.” Korra warned as she helped Asami up. She noticed how Asami was trembling and wondered if it was a good idea to let her shower on her own. “Can you handle it?”

“I know how to shower myself.” Asami said, trying to save as much dignity as she had left.

“Okay, give me a shout if you need something.” Korra said anyway as she saw Asami disappear behind another door. She turned and looked at the shattered glass, trashcan and towel. This was way worse than she had expected, but she was determined to help. While she whistled she looked for a vacuum cleaner or broom to clear the glass from the floor.

After fifteen minutes the living room was back to normal. Korra opened the door to the hall to greet Naga. The dog walked in and lied down next to the couch.

“Oh, now you’re calm, after breaking two glasses. You better buy her new ones.” Korra said, pouting at her dog although she couldn’t stay angry at Naga for long. “What am I to do with you?” Korra sighed when Naga woofed innocently.

Slowly Korra walked to the door through which Asami had disappeared. She listened carefully, but couldn’t hear water running. _That’s weird…_

“Asami, is everything okay?” Korra asked as she knocked on the door. There was no answer. Korra looked over her shoulder to Naga, as if it knew what to do. The dog only turned her head slightly.

“I’m coming in okay.” Korra warned, there was still no answer. Slowly Korra opened the door as to give Asami enough time to protest if she hadn’t heard Korra’s warning. The door led to a dark room. The air in the room was stale. It didn’t really stink, but it was obvious that the room hadn’t been ventilated for a really long time. The light from the living room shone over heaps of clothes, books, empty plates and glasses. More to the side Korra could discern a big, unmade bed with a figure lying on the far end.

“Asami?” Korra asked as she stepped into the room.

“Go away…” The voice was muffled. Asami moved further to the edge with her back to the door, a blanket tightly wrapped around her.

“Asami, are you alright?”

“I said go away!” This time Asami’s voice was loud and clear.

“I can help you with the shower if you want or let you sleep.” Korra tried her best to ignore Asami’s desperate request.

“Korra, please go. You own me nothing, so you don’t have to be here.” Asami voice was a little softer and less aggressive, which gave Korra the courage to move further into the room.

“What if I want to stay?” Korra asked.

“Why would you possibly want to stay?” Korra could hear the tears through Asamis voice, even though she hadn’t turned around yet. “I’m a wreck. If you do this because you think you own me, then please leave.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” Korra explained. This time Asami kept quiet. Now that Korra’s eyes were more adjusted to the darkness, she moved towards the bed. She sat and swung her legs onto the bed as well. She didn’t really bother with pulling of her shoes since the bed looked like it needed clean sheets anyway. “I’m here because I like you.”

“How can you like me? You don’t even know me. Nobody knows me these days.”

“I can start trying to know you. If you let me.” Korra heard Asami shift a little, but she kept facing the wall.

“Korra, I’m more trouble than it’s worth. I can’t even shower on my own! My hands, they keep shaking and this stupid cast prevents me from getting off my clothes or getting dressed in the morning!” Asami’s sad tone turned to one of frustration.

“Maybe you need to go to a doctor. They can stop your hands from shaking.”

“No they can’t!”

“Asami please. It’s not good that you are shaking. What if something is really wrong? You were in a car accident…”

“One I caused, because I was drunk! And I’m shaking because I need a drink!” The words were spat out in hatred, but not aimed at Korra, but at Asami herself.

“Ow…” Korra said in realization. She stayed quiet for a while, which made Asami shift a little again.

“So leave. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.” Asami’s voice was muffled again.

“I was once in a terrible accident.” Korra started after some thought. “It took me months to recover. All that time someone had to help me dress, eat, sleep, shower, I couldn’t even go to the toilet alone. I felt like a waste of oxygen.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Asami mumbled as a sign that she was listening.

“After I got better I lost all will to life. I kept thinking it was okay to just disappear, do my family and friends a big favor. But the universe doesn’t work that way. Everyone I cared about organized an intervention for me. Man, I was pissed when I found out.” Korra could hear an involuntary chuckle from Asami. “But soon I realized that I had to get my shit together. Of course the world would keep turning without me, but that wasn’t the point. If I had given up, I wouldn’t be able to scratch Naga behind her ears anymore or to make stupid jokes with Bolin. My point is, the world sort of needs you. You never know when you’re going to make someone happy. And making someone happy or even just making someone smile is worth staying around for.” Korra inhaled deeply when Asami didn’t answer. “Sorry, that was kind of cheesy.”

“Are you okay now?” Asami softly asked.

“Yes, physically I’m all good. Mentally? It gets better.” Korra heard the sheets shift again and this time Asami turned around enough to look at Korra with red, watery eyes.

“How did you start? I mean with getting better.”

“Simple, you just start!” Korra said in a cheerful voice when she jumped off the bed. “First we let a little light and air in.” With a powerful pull she withdrew the curtains and she heard Asami groan when light stormed into the room. Korra went on to open the window before she turned back to Asami.

“Take small steps and you will get there.” Korra said in an encouraging voice. Asami slowly nodded, gathering her strength to push herself up and swing her legs over her bed. When she sat upright the blood retreated from her head and for a second she thought she would tip over. Instead two strong hands flew to her shoulders, keeping her upright. Instinctively Asami put her hand on one of Korra’s. They were frozen in time for a moment.

“Ready for a second step?” Korra asked.

“More then I’ll ever be.” Asami sighed as Korra helped her further up.

 

* * *

 

Asami took a moment to carefully observe her surroundings. In front of her stood a small church with next to it a community centre. People were coming and going and Asami wondered if she had ever been here before. She wasn’t a religious person and she never had the time to do voluntary work, so she didn’t recognize this part of the city. But that was a good thing. It meant that running into someone she knew was almost out of the question.

Asami pulled out her pack of cigarettes to pop one between her lips. The tremble in her hands had lessened over the days and it didn’t take her long to light it, although doing it all with one hand made it a intricate task. She felt the bitter taste of smoke on her tongue and the muscles in her neck started to relax. Whenever Asami craved a drink these days, she would smoke. She knew she was swapping one addiction for another, but this one didn’t make her drive people of the road.

_Addiction. Is that what I'm calling it now?_ Asami asked herself, but her appointment at the community centre answered her question clearly enough. She closed her eyes, thinking of abandoning the whole idea and just go home. But as soon as she pictured leaving, she pictured Korra looking at her in disappointment.

A week ago Korra had helped her clean up her house a bit. Since her visit, Asami had been doing better. She needed someone to remind her that life went on and one couldn’t waste it away. Every time Asami thought of falling back into her old habits, she thought of Korra. Her enthusiasm. Her never faltering optimism. The way she had listened to Asami’s terrible life choices without judging her.

_She really got a grip on you._ Asami thought, but it only made her smile.

“Hi there!” Asami heard a cheerful voice behind her. When she turned she saw an older woman smile at her. Her eyes were clear blue and her skin a shade of bronze. She was obviously from a water tribe and her contagious smile made Asami return one.

“Hello.” Asami simply replied.

“Gathering courage to go in?” Asami coughed when she heard the unexpected question. _Can she see I'm here for the AA meeting!?_ “Don’t be alarmed! I'm here to help.  Asami right?”

“Yes, how do you know?”

“Korra described you as tall, with long dark hair, poised and gorgeous.” The woman said grinning when her last remark made Asami blush. “Yeah, she really went out of her way to describe you. I almost couldn’t stop her.”

“Then you must be Kya. Pleased to meet you.” Asami introduced herself after regaining her posture. Korra had left a note with Kya’s number scribbled on it on Asami’s night stance after her first visit. She had written under it that if Asami wanted to talk about any of the things that were bothering her, Kya would be a good therapist. Of course Korra never had used the word alcoholic, but it was clear that she knew what was going on. Kya was apparently a well-praised therapist with several talk groups for people suffering of addiction. Since Zhu Li kept calling Asami to ask if she already found an AA group, Asami didn’t had a lot of choice but to call Kya for a place in one of hers.

“The first time is always the worst.” Kya said.

“I’m just checking it out…” Asami felt stupid for saying it. Kya must have heard that a million times before. It only made Asami look more pathetic. She could at least show some self knowledge. She needed this group more than she liked to admit.

“Checking it out is always welcome!” Kya said. “See you in a bit.” With that the woman walked away. Asami watched how Kya greeted some people around the community centre before walking in. Yet again she thought of leaving and yet again Korra’s face appeared before her.

“Come on, you’re better than this.” Asami hissed to herself as she put out her cigarette and walked towards the entrance.

 

* * *

 

“That’s three yuans.” The man of the hotdog stand said. Korra dug into her pockets to get him the coins.  With her late lunch she searched for a bench on the side of the busy street. It was hot and Korra took her time to eat, enjoying the summer sun. She looked at the parade of different people passing by.  She really needed this break. In between work and caring for Asami, she hadn’t had a lot of time for herself.

With another bite she finished her meal. She was just about to leave when her eye fell on a familiar face. The boy Kai they once had arrested in their search for Shin was walking through the crowd. Korra kept following him with her gaze and saw how he smoothly put his hand into a woman’s purse and retreated it with a black wallet.  Instead of running, Kai put away the wallet into his deep pockets and slowly turned. Korra sighed and stood up. With a couple of quick steps she cut off Kai. He made an 'oof' sound when he walked into Korra’s strong stance.

“I think you got something that doesn’t belong to you.” Korra said. Kai looked up and immediately recognized her. His mouth opened to defend himself, but he soon changed his mind. Korra kept glaring at him. Kai started to look over his shoulder to spot his victim. With an air of defeat he walked right up to her.

“Excuse me madam.” Kai said in a honey sweet voice. “I think you dropped your wallet.” Kai presented the stolen wallet.

“Oh dear! Thank you so much!” The woman screeched. “The city needs more young men like yourself.”

“It’s nothing.” Kai grinned, feeling Korra stand behind him.

“Here, buy yourself an ice-cream dear.” The woman gave Kai a couple of yuans, who accepted the money with a smile.

“Thank you. Have a nice day.” Kai bowed and turned to make his way further down the road. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him back.

“Not so fast.” Korra said. Kai shrugged off her hand, but didn’t turn away again.

“What do you want?” He snapped.

“I want you to stop. I could have arrested you, you know.” Korra crossed her arms, which didn’t really intimidate Kai. “Why aren’t you at school?”

“Schools cost money.  Plus there is nothing I can learn there, what I can’t learn here.”

“Then get an honest job.”

“I have a job.”

“Getting information for the Triple Threats?” Korra asked. Kai kept quiet.  “You could help us with information.”

“I don’t work for the police.” Kai stated.

“So you rather work for people who are bound to get you into serious trouble?” Korra started to talk louder, getting angry. Kai seemed to be set on the idea to throw his life away.

“The police doesn’t care.” Kai spat back.

“I care!”

“I don’t need your help! Go be someone else’s savior.” Kai turned his head away, not willing to look Korra in the eye anymore. Korra sighed.

“Listen, I know what Triads do with people they don’t need any more. They won’t give you a future, they will take your future. You don’t have to trust the police, but you can work for me.” Korra tried to convince the boy. Kai bowed his head to look at his shoes.

“I know what they do to people who snitch.” His voice was softer.

“Listen, I can set you up at a real nice place with kind people. You will be safe there.”

“Why would you?”

“Because I need your help to stop one of the worse Triads out there. And I think you are a good kid. I have friends that once lived at an orphanage and I know that it’s hard. But it can get better.”

“I don’t want your pity.” Kai said, but the strength had left his voice.

“Fine, then do it as a favor for me, because I’ll be lost without your help.” Korra said rolling her eyes. Kai kicked away a stone, thinking deeply about Korra’s proposition.

“As long if I don’t have to clean toilettes.” He said, looking up again.

“Deal. They life on a farm though, so you might have to clean out stalls.” Korra said with a grin when disgust crossed Kai’s face. Still, he didn’t comment on it.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

 

* * *

 

“That’s when I realized I couldn’t be the person I wanted to be. I wasted so much years. It made me sad, which made it hard to keep on going. But this new job might be just the thing I need…” Asami’s concentration was wavering. There were about ten people in her group and everyone had a turn to talk about their weeks. Because Asami was new, she would be the last one, all though she was fleetingly introduced by Kya at the beginning.

Every new story made Asami feel worse. They were all about how alcohol had destroyed someone’s life and they all ended with the happy message that they were better now. There was a man who gleefully told the group he was sober for six months, but even that news didn’t cheer Asami up as she clapped along with the others to congratulate him. The prospect of counting the days since her last drink was tearing a hole in her heart. Was this what she had become?

Asami stared at her hands as the woman kept on telling her interchangeable story. Asami noticed how her fingers slightly trembled again. She gulped as she started to think about her own cliché sad story.

“Asami?”

“Uhm, what?” Asami shot up at the mention of her name. Kya looked at her with a patient smile, one she wore for every member of the group.

“Would you like to introduce yourself further to the group? Like, what your job is, your hobbies, favorite color? Anything you want to tell.”

“Oh right. Of course.” Asami felt the weight of everyone looking at her, which made her mind race. “Well, my name is Asami Sa…” She stopped abruptly, staring back at her hands.

“It’s okay, don’t be nervous. We’re all friends here.” Kya encouraged her. Asami bit her lip, feeling like a shy toddler on her first day at school. _You’re a successful engineer! You have dealt with Varrick for God’s sake! Get it together!_ She yelled at herself as she raised her head again.

“My name is Asami Qadira. I’m an engineer at Varrick Global Industries. I don’t have any hobbies. I like red.” Asami’s voice was confident, professional, but also detached from any emotion. She saw people nod around her, but nobody said a word. “Uhm… I’m here because…” Asami’s voice faltered again, but she wasn’t about to give up. “I had an accident.” She softly patted the cast on her arm. “I hope I can find some reflection on my situation here.” She added for good measure.

“We hope we can give you some reflection. Welcome to the group. Okay, let’s break for today. I will see each one of you sometime this week. And remember, it gets better.” With Kya’s closing words people started to stand up, chatting among each other. Most of them walked towards a table with coffee and stale donuts. The sight made Asami’s stomach clench and she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

While shoving her chair back she realized a man was standing very close to her.

“Can I help you?” She asked a little bit more aggressive than she had meant to.

“No, but I can help you. The name is Tahno. I’m your sponsor.” The pale man with slick, dark hair said. Asami groaned internally, whishing this day away.

“Do I need a sponsor?”

“Let me guess, court forced you to join an AA group?”  Tahno said, grinning from ear to ear.

“My employer.”

“Right, well to keep your job you need to do more than tell sappy stories in a circle.”

“I guess.” Asami mumbled, wondering why the universe had to give her this sleazeball for a sponsor. As if her life wasn’t bad enough.

“So was it wine?” Asami raised an eyebrow. Was he really asking her what she thought he was asking her? “No wait, it has to be stronger. You are a professional, wine takes too long to give the right buzz.” Tahno put his finger to his mouth, staring at Asami in deep thought.

“This conversation is wildly inappropriate…” Asami said in disbelieve.

“Sherry! No wait, port. No, too sweet.”

“Whiskey.” Asami deadpanned.

“Ah, good old whiskey. Well, here is my number, some pamphlets and the book with all the steps you need to complete. If you have questions, don’t call me immediately.” Tahno put the papers in Asami’s good arm and walked off before she could say another thing. _What the hell was that!?_ Asami wanted to punch someone in the face, until she felt the weight shift in her arm.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Kya said, taking the papers to put them into a plastic bag. “That was Tahno. He is quite the character, but you will get used to him.”

“I don’t know if this is working for me.” Asami answered.

“I personally chose him for you. You seem like someone who wants the truth. Tahno is rude, but at least you’ll get the truth.” Kya explained. Somehow this made sense to Asami and she was slightly alarmed at how well Kya had read her in such a sort amount of time. “Don’t worry. If something goes really wrong, you could also call me.”

“Thanks…” Asami mumbled, taking the bag from Kya.

“You did great today.”

“I did almost nothing.”

“Ha! See, you don’t like it sugarcoated.” Kya laughed, making Asami smile. “I will call you for a personal talk somewhere this week. Try to read the booklet, I will explain the steps later on.” Asami nodded as Kya walked away again.

_Shit, I’m really doing this._ Asami thought to herself as she took a moment before walking out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thanks for reading again :) For me this kind of felt like an in-between chapter to clean up some of the emotional mess I had created in the previous chapters, so I hope it didn't bore you all too much. Next one will elborate more on the Triad situation and Asami's past (more action I hope!)  
> Anyway, thanks again for all the support and hopefully till the next chapter.


	7. You Could Have It So Much Better

“Beep, beep, beep, beep!”

“No… Stop.” Korra pulled her pillow over her head. The harsh sound of her alarm bit through the fabric.  She applied a little bit more force, making the blood hum in her ears.

“Whoo!” Naga started to howl through the alarm.

“For God’s sake, I'm up!” Korra yelled as she threw her blankets off and slammed on the alarm clock. As soon as the beeping stopped, so did Naga. Korra sighed, falling back on her bed. A wet tongue licked her hand, making her giggle.

“Alright, alright, you will get your breakfast.” With a yawn and a stretch, Korra walked to the small kitchen. Naga kept padding around her until she filled a bowl of food. When Naga was happily munching away, Korra took place at the kitchen table, too tired to make breakfast for herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Korra saw a light on her mobile phone flashing.  She grabbed it off the table and swiped the screensaver away. _What, eleven new massages!?_ They were all from Asami and Korra started to suspect the worst.

‘Hi!  How are you?' The first message said, sent on half past five in the morning.

‘Oh, wait.  You must be still asleep. Sorry.'

‘I couldn’t sleep anymore, so…'

‘So I will talk to myself J'

‘Gosh,  I'm so sorry for being weird. I actually wanted to ask you out.'

‘Do you want to go out with me? Dinner?  My treat?'

‘Okay,  I really lost my smooth attitude somewhere along the way.  Sorry, I will look for it before we go out. I promise.'

'That is if you want to go out.'

‘Alright,  I will stop now. Bye.'

‘Oh jeez! I must have left a thousand messages on your phone. Sorry! I didn’t mean to worry you. I will stop talking now.'

‘Till soon, I hope.'

Korra snickered. For once someone was being more of a dork than her.

‘A very thorough way to ask someone out! I will love to go. Tomorrow evening? I might be able to leave work early.’ Korra sent back.

“Naga!” Korra yelled out as she jumped up. The dog went on eating, ignoring its owner. Korra threw her arms around the animal, that started to growl now. Naga didn’t like to be bothered while eating.

“Life can be pretty nice.” Korra whispered into the white, warm and soft fur.

 

* * *

 

 

“Asami?” Mako called out as he walked into the hall. It still felt a bit awkward to just enter his ex’s house like this.

“Living room!” Asami said back. With fast steps he walked on. Asami was seated at a new table. Modern photographs hung on the walls and bookcases filled the rest of the room.

“Wow, now it even looks like you live here.” Mako joked. The last time he was here the apartment was still a mess with a disturbing lack of furniture.

“Yeah, I unpacked some boxes. I need to buy a new couch, though.”

“You did this all by yourself?” Mako asked in awe as he put the grocery bag on the table.

“The neighbor from the third floor was happy to help with the cases.” Asami went on as she tried to turn a screw in her radio with one hand.

“You know that you need to rest.” Mako said, still admiring Asami’s many books.

“I’ll make myself crazy if I don’t do anything.” Asami sighed, putting the screwdriver down. “What have you got for me?”

“Oh, some vegetables, bread, eggs, the basics.”

“You know that if you continue with this shopping habit I can feed an orphanage very soon.” Asami’s refrigerator was almost bursting at its seams. People however kept buying her food as if she wasn’t able to feed herself. Maybe she wasn’t.

“I know, but I promised Zhu Li and she doesn’t seem to be the kind of person you want to piss off.” Mako explained as he took the bag of groceries to put them away on the last vacant spots in the kitchen.  “Bolin wants to visit. I told him about the accident.” Asami had given Mako permission to tell Bolin about her situation,  since Mako started to feel guilty about his secret visits.

“How did he take it?” Asami asked when Mako returned.

“Shocked,  worried. He wants to see how you’re doing. Might solve your food problem.”

“Ah, I guess. I will invite him over sometime.” Asami promised. The sound of her phone vibrating distracted Asami as she grabbed the device with the speed of light. Mako saw a smile grow on her face as she started to punch in some letters with one finger.

“Good news?” Mako asked, toying with the screwdriver on the table.

“Yes.” Asami mumbled back. “I… uhm…”

“You what?” Asami took a deep breath. She didn’t want to freak Mako out, but she also was tired of keeping secrets.

“I asked Korra out, she just said yes.” She stared at Mako, trying to read his reaction. He just nodded.

“Cool.”

“Cool? It doesn’t sound like you find it very cool.”

“What do you want me to say? Congrats? I give you my blessings?” Mako sounded agitated, not that Asami expected anything else.

“No, but I don’t want this to come between us.” Asami tried to calm the storm.

“What are your intentions?” Mako asked out of the blue, which made Asami frown.

“My intentions? Are you my father now?”

“No, I just want to know your plans. What are you playing at?”

“I’m playing at nothing!” Asami growled. She didn’t like that Mako was suggesting she was some kind of heartless monster. “I happen to like Korra and excuse me if I grab every opportunity for happiness.”        

“But what about her happiness!?” Mako yelled. “You can’t drag her down with all your problems! Don’t think I didn’t notice your name change or how you never really talk about anything personal. Korra might seem tough, but she can’t handle another disaster!” Silence ended his little outrage and the two friends stared at each other. “Sorry, that was… uncalled for.” Mako mumbled.

 Asami wished she had the words to defend herself or even the arguments, but she knew Mako had a point. Was she using Korra to forget her own miserable life? Was it fair of her to depend on Korra to become happy again?

 “She has been through a lot. All she wants now is a quiet life and however much I care about you, I won’t  stand by and watch Korra’s life collapse again.” Mako’s tone was calmer, but his words hadn’t lost their edge.

“She told me she had an accident. How bad was it?” Asami asked, her mood below zero now.

“Bad. You can read it on the internet. Just search Korra, Red Lotus and the Avatar stadium.” Asami looked up. She had heard something about an terrorist attack in the Avatar Stadium by a radical political group the Red Lotus. Thousands of people had been held hostage, but in the end there were almost no fatalities. Asami couldn’t recall Korra being mentioned. “I know you are a good person, but…” Mako was thinking about the right words to use.

“I’m bad news.” Asami picked them for him.

“No you’re not. Sorry, I’m being weird. You two together…” Mako sighed.

“I won’t hurt her.” Asami tried.

“I know. Good, this was awkward. I should go. See you around.” Mako stood up, stumbling a bit over his chair.

“I will call for a get-together with Bolin.” Asami said and Mako nodded, leaving the room. Asami looked back at her phone.

‘Pick you up at six? I think I remember your address.’ Her message seemed stupid now. Was this all stupid?

‘I will be the girl with the stunning eyes and incredible biceps.’ Asami snorted at Korra’s arrogant answer, although Korra wasn’t lying.

“However much I would love to see you in a tank top, where we’re going you might want to wear something more dressy ;)’ Asami smiled, if she wasn’t good enough for Korra right now, she will make damn sure she will be in the future.

 

* * *

 

“You got him to stay at the Avatar family!?” Opal asked in surprise when Korra drove them up a rural road.

“How do you know?” Korra asked as shocked. She had told Opal that she got Kai somewhere safe and that he wanted to cooperate now, but she hadn’t told her about the Avatar estate.

“I’m a Beifong. Rich families tend to know each other.” Opal said nonchalantly. Korra chuckled. Rich wasn’t the first word she would use to describe the Avatar family. They were important though. For generations they were political influential and had done a lot for society. Now Tenzin, the youngest son of Katara and Aang, was running a farm just outside the city. He employed youngsters who were in a difficult situation and struggled to enter society as adults. “My aunt knows Kya.” Opal added.

“Oh, right! Kya had mentioned that once.”

“You talk to them?” Opal asked in awe.

“Yes, they’re family friends. You know that Katara comes from the same tribe as my parents. She was my nanny.” Korra explained.

“Wow, you were bound to become an Avatar yourself.” Opal joked, still missing the pained expression on Korra’s face due to that nickname.

After a short drive through fields and forest, Korra and Opal arrived at a large farm house. High fences were protecting the perimeters. When they parked their car a young boy came running towards them.

“Korra! Korra!” He yelled, jumping up and down.

“Hi there Meelo. How are the troops?” When Korra mentioned ‘troops’, Meelo stood still, raised his hand for a salute and yelled: “Great ma’am!”

“Good, off you go soldier.” Korra said in a demanding voice, saluting the boy back. With a sprint, Meelo disappeared into the farmhouse.

“He likes to play army.” Korra explained as they walked up to the house.

“I always thought the Avatar kids would be more stuck up and what not.” Opal wondered, taking in the vast surroundings of the estate.

“Really? Are the Beifong children stuck up?” Korra asked bemused.

“What? Any complaints about my manners?” Opal joked, elbowing Korra in the ribs.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Korra laughed as they walked through the doors.

“Korra, how nice to see you!” A woman with a kind smile greeted them. “And you are?”

“Opal Beifong.” Opal introduced herself with a small bow.

“My name is Pema. I just made some tea, join me in the kitchen.” Pema said, walking into another room.  “Tenzin will be here in a minute with Kai.”

“He doesn’t have to hurry. We have time.” Korra said, taking place at the big dinner table.

“Really? Thought you had a date tonight.” Opal whispered with a smirk. Korra kicked her shin, coughing in the meantime to cover up Opal’s yelp.

“How is Kai doing?” Korra asked as Pema sat down with them, placing teacups in front of them.

“He’s a sweet boy. Works really hard, although I have been missing some forks lately.” Pema said.

“I will tell him to give them back.” Korra sighed. She didn’t even know what a kid like that must do with forks.

“So how is your aunt Lin? I haven’t seen her around for a while.” Pema asked, turning to Opal.

“Owh. She’s… Lin.” Opal said, surprised that Pema asked.

“That is a very true statement.” Pema reflected.

“Pema is the only brave woman in the world who stole Lin’s boyfriend and lived to tell the tale.” Korra snickered.

“She hardly stole me. I went willingly.” A booming voice emerged from the doorway. A tall bold man with a goatee entered the kitchen.

“Hi Tenzin.” Korra smiled.

“Hello Korra, it has been a long time.”

“I was busy.” Korra said as Tenzin took a seat at the table.

“I’m going to check on Meelo. He has been quiet for five minutes now, which can’t be good.” Pema excused herself.

“You must be Opal. It’s nice to meet you.” Tenzin said.

“It’s an honor to be here.” Opal answered.

“We really should have met earlier, but the Beifongs are always so busy. You know my father and your grandmother were close friends.”

“Yes, my mom told me. We should have a get-together sometime.” Opal agreed.

“Yes, we really should. Anyway, you’re here for Kai.” Tenzin turned to Korra.

“Thanks for putting him up on such short notice. His situation is a bit complicated.” Korra excused herself.

“The Triads, they are a menace to the city.” Tenzin said in thought, stroking his goatee. “I don’t know how long I can keep him here though.” He continued with an hint of remorse.

“But he’s safe here.” Korra tried, not needing another problem on her hands right now.

“I know, but you have to understand that we are under a lot of pressure these days. I house a lot of teenagers and we are overpopulated. There is not much for him to do around here. Besides that, I can’t put everybody in danger.” Tenzin explained.

“So you’re just going to let him slip through the cracks!?” Korra yelled in frustration. She knew Tenzin had no other choice. If the Triads were after Kai, this whole place could be in danger, definitely if the Agni Kai got involved. Still it made Korra angry. It wasn’t Kai’s fault he was a threat. She had persuaded him to snitch and now she had to think of a way to keep him safe.

“You know that that is the last thing I want to do, but there are others as well.” Tenzin tried again, as calm as ever.

“Fine, I will find a new place for him.” Korra grunted.

“I’m sorry Korra, you know I would help you out if I could.” Tenzin said. “Things have just been crazy around here. Raiko is struggling with the unemployment in the city and his reelection, calling for more meetings than there are hours in the day. Then there was this fire in the stables, no-one got hurt, but we had to build a new barn. And I had this weird car accident a while back. We still need to remove the tree that was hit.” Tenzin tried to explain his decision.

“I’m sorry to hear all that. I will get Kai out of your hair.” Korra stood up with a sigh. Opal followed her.

“If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thanks, say hello to the kids from me.” Korra said. Tenzin nodded and they said their goodbyes as Korra and Opal went to fetch Kai.

“So what next? I can take Kai in for a couple of days, but I don’t know what my parents will think of it.” Opal offered.

“You still live at your parents’ house?” Korra asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They have a big house, so it feels like living on my own.” Opal shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s okay. I will take him. Gives Naga a playmate.”

“Let’s just hope  that the Triads won’t find out or just don’t care.” Opal voiced Korra’s fears.

“Let’s just hope…”

 

* * *

  

The bar was dark and smoke hang in the air. It was just after midday, but the lack of natural light made it look like midnight. There weren’t a lot of people and in the far end of the bar was a band playing. The notes of slow jazz made the atmosphere complete, especially when the saxophonist started another melodramatic solo.

Asami scanned the place, seeing her sponsor sitting at the bar. What kind of place was this to meet her sponsor anyway? You would think that alcoholics shouldn’t meet up at bars like this.

 _Okay, don’t lose your cool and count till ten whenever he gets on your nerves. After this you go home, dress up and meet Korra._ Asami motivated herself. Yesterday Tahno had called Asami, saying it was protocol to get to know each other. Before Asami could protest he had set a time and a place for their ‘bonding’ time. Throughout the whole conversation, Tahno sounded as unenthusiastic as Asami was feeling, so she hoped this wouldn’t take long.

“Hello.” Asami greeted, taking place next to Tahno on a barstool. He was sipping on a light red drink that looked like a cocktail.

“Shirley Temple.” Tahno commented as he saw Asami’s gaze.

“Right.”

“You can have one too if you want.”

“No, cocktails always have been too sweet for my taste.” Asami said. “A glass of sparkling water please.” Asami ordered when she got the attention of the bartender.

“So I was a jazz musician. Best trumpet player in the city. My band was way better than that.” Tahno said as he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the band playing.

“Okay?” Asami said unsure of why he was telling this.  Tahno exclaimed a tormented sigh.

“We need to bond, so I tell you my story to build up trust. Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll or in my case jazz was my life. That went well till the drummer died of an overdose.” Tahno ended his story as if he was reciting a list of chores.

“I’m sorry that happened.” Asami said, figuring that it must have been hard to lose a friend like that.

“Yes, so I cut the alcohol since I wanted to live. What’s your story princess?”

“Don’t call me that.” Asami said in a ice cold voice. Tahno smirked and took a sip through the straw in his drink. “I don’t know when I started to drink on a regular basis.” This wasn’t a lie. Asami had spent hours of figuring out when she exactly lost control over her life. She came up empty, only assuming it happened gradually.

“So are you an hedonist or a forgetter?” Tahno asked, making Asami raise an eyebrow yet again. “Pleasure or sadness? I drank for fun, you drank to…” Tahno made a hand gesture suggesting that Asami had to hurry up with it.

“Forgetter. It never worked though.” Asami admitted, taking a big gulp of her water.

“It never does. What were you forgetting?”

“I rather not tell.” Asami cut him off, making Tahno sigh once again.

“Listen, I don’t like you and you don’t like me. I’m still your sponsor and for this to work you need to tell. That way we can both move on with our lives instead of sitting here.”

“Fine. First my mother left me when I was small, then my boyfriend cheated on me and to finish it all my father betrayed me. That’s when I started, wanting to forget that everyone was leaving me. I wanted to forget that I was alone or that that even mattered. Then my mother returned just to get hit by a car that was sent by her fiancée and I can’t go to the police because then I will be next!” The last words left Asami to stare at Tahno in shock. She shouldn’t have said that. It was just that she couldn’t stop once she started. Nobody ever has asked her why she was the way she was and now all the shitty things in her life just started to pour out.

“Sorry, forget I said that.” Asami whispered.

“Sounds like quite the life you got there.” Tahno said sipping some more Shirley Temple. His expression was hard to read.

“Yeah, keeps me busy.” Asami sighed. All of a sudden Tahno slammed his hand on the bar.

“Did you hear that! That man is just playing scales, calling it a solo. This city doesn’t know what style is anymore. This is going to get us all killed! Mark my words!” Tahno yelled at the stage.

“Shut up!” One of the musicians yelled back, making Asami think that this wasn’t the first time Tahno had anything to say about the music. It made her smile somewhat.

“Why don’t you play?” Asami asked.

“Maybe one day. This dump sure needs it.” Tahno scoffed. The bartender shook his head. “Pfff, as if you know anything about music.” Tahno commented. Asami wondered how Tahno behaved when he was drunk, if this was him sober it couldn’t be good.

“Listen Asami, live your life. I know we all have to make amends in those stupid talk groups, but don’t become a sad case trying to look for some magical new beginning.” Tahno started to point at Asami to give more force to his words. “You’re like me. There is a fire in you. You have better things to do than to worry about drinks.”

“Uhm… thanks?”

“Whatever!” Tahno rolled his eyes and walked towards the bathroom, leaving Asami in confusion.

“You have an intense friend.” The bartender remarked.

“Does he come here very often?”

“Only to yell at the band. I mean, he might have a point. That guy always plays the same things.” Asami chuckled. Somehow she was less disappointed in her sponsor now.

 

* * *

 

“This is the kitchen. You can take anything from the fridge, just watch out with the oven. It doesn’t work properly and sometimes it just burns stuff.”

“I’m not much of a cook.” Kai answered while he went through some cabinets till he found a box of biscuits. “Don’t you have to go to your date?” Kai asked while stuffing his face.

“Yes.” Korra answered, subconsciously adjusting her blouse a little. She was pumped up about her date with Asami, but also worried about everything else and a little bit nervous.

“Cool, I will hold the fort.” Kai said, taking the box with biscuits to the living room. He fell down on the couch and turned on the television. Korra watched him. He looked like he had always lived here.

“Don’t go out. We don’t want anyone to see you.” Korra warned.

“Yes, yes.” Kai answered, changing channels. Korra sighed. She sounded like her mother.

“And you, watch over this one okay?” Korra whispered into Naga’s ear as she knelt down next to her pet. “Also, don’t let him eat all the cookies.” Naga woofed at the sound of cookies, which made Korra smile.

“I think your girlfriend is honking her car or the traffic is jammed down there!” Kai yelled over the high volume of the television.

“See you later and turn that down!” Korra yelled back as she slipped out the door.

Outside Asami was waiting, resting against the door of a fire red Cadillac. She wore black biker boots, a black skirt that reached just above her knees and a loose red blouse that complimented her lipstick. It was the perfect balance between chic and casual.

“Hi there. You look snazzy.” Korra commented, feeling uncomfortable in her clothes. She normally wouldn’t wear a blouse and blazer, but she didn’t know what kind of restaurant Asami would take her to.

“You look good yourself. Very classic and formal.” Asami smiled, opening the back door of the Cadillac so Korra could step in.

“I’m not allowed on the front seat?” Korra asked teasingly, making Asami cringe for a second.

“I have a chauffeur. So… We can chat on the backseat.” Asami explained uneasy.

“Cool! I never had a driver before!” Korra hopped into the car and was joined by Asami on the other side. “Hello.” Korra greeted the man behind the wheel. The driver just nodded and took off when Asami closed the door.

“So this is your car?” Korra asked in awe.

“One of the many I have.” Asami smiled. “I kind of love vehicles.”

“Vehicles?”

“Yeah, cars, motorcycles, boats, planes…”

“Did you just say boats? Did you just say planes!?” Korra’s mouth dropped, making Asami laugh.

“Yes, I said both. It’s an hobby.”

“Some hobby you got there. So where are you taking me in your hobby?”

“Oh, a lady never shares her secrets.” Asami said bemused, watching Korra blush. Something about Asami’s sultry voice made shivers go down Korra’s spine. _She’s way more innocent on the phone._ Korra thought, although she couldn’t complain about Asami’s newfound confidence.

 

* * *

 

Kwong’s Cuisine was one of the most famous restaurants in the world. Korra had heard of it, but had never been there before, since it was way over her budget. Only movie starts and important political figures could get a table at Kwong’s and they even had to reserve months in advance.

And here they were. The moment the waiter saw Asami enter his eyes started to light up. He bowed and led the two of them into the restaurant, making several other people wait. Korra looked around while they were walking. She felt terribly underdressed. Most of the people that were eating were wearing evening gowns or tuxedo’s. Korra looked beside her to Asami, who was chatting with the waiter. She looked even more informal than Korra, but she didn’t seem to be bothered by this and as far as the dress code was concerned, it didn’t seem to apply to Asami or Korra.

“Here you go Miss Qadira.” The waiter pulled a chair back from the table once they had entered a cozy room, sheltered from the other guests.

“Thank you Francis.” Asami said, smiling at the waiter.

“The usual?” The waiter asked.

“For me yes, but without the wine. I would like some mineral water instead. And Korra might want to see the menu?” Korra was so taken in by her surroundings that she didn’t hear Asami’s question.

“Miss, would you like to see the menu?” Francis asked a little louder.

“What? Oh, I will have whatever Asami is having.” Korra said, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to make a good choice anyway. She blushed when she saw Asami subtly laugh in her hand.

“Excellent.” Francis took a small bow before leaving.

“I can’t believe you took me to Kwong’s.” Korra whispered leaning over the table. Asami giggled. She loved how Korra was looking around her with an expression of wonder.

“I hope you like it.”

“How did you even get a table?”

“I made an investment in the restaurant, so I'm kind of a regular here.”

“Wow…” Korra sat back. “You are really out of my league.” Korra sighed.

“I won’t be so sure about that.” Asami smiled back. It didn’t take long for Francis to come back with the first dishes. Every bite made Korra’s mouth hum. She never had dined like this before. Whenever she let out another groan of appreciation she heard Asami softly laugh.

“So I heard that you are in Kya’s group.” Korra mentioned in-between courses. Asami visibly flinched. “She didn’t say anything detailed, just that you joined and were doing great. I'm glad to hear that.” Korra explained.

“Thanks…” Asami dapped at her mouth, considering what she should say next. “Korra, you know that it’s an AA group.”

“Yes.” Asami frowned as Korra seemed to be unimpressed by this.

“So that means I'm…” Asami swallowed. She still didn’t know how to tell people this. She felt a warmth on her hand, when she looked down she saw Korra’s hand on hers.

“I know.” Asami looked up at her date, who was just smiling at her.

“And you don’t mind?” She asked, seeing Korra sit back again.

“No, nobody is perfect, but you’re getting pretty close.” Asami could only smile. Maybe Mako was right, she really didn’t deserve Korra, but she would do everything necessary to change that.

“Can I ask you something?” Korra asked.

“Ask away.”

“Who are your parents?” Korra blurted out, making Asami almost choke on her water.

“Why?” She asked defensive, more out of habit than being insulted by Korra’s question.

“There is so much I don’t know about you and you are very private. I want to know you better and your parents seemed like a good start.” Asami smiled, understanding Korra’s point. Wasn’t that what normal people do on dates, talk about their lives and childhoods.

“It’s not really an happy story.” Asami mumbled. She didn’t want to hide from Korra, but she also didn’t want to ruin the mood.

“Oh, sorry.” Korra said, looking down at the table.

“My mom is in a coma and I don’t talk to my dad anymore.” Asami summed up, catching Korra’s attention. 

“Asami,  I didn’t know.” Asami held up her hand to stop Korra’s string of apologies.

“I never really talk about myself because there is not much to say. It’s not that I don’t want to share.”

“I'm here if you ever want to talk.”

“Thanks and I promise you that I will someday.” A silence fell. “Let’s talk about something else. I could tell you about the crazy project Varrick has thrown me into or about that one time I convinced Mako to go skinny dipping with me and how he was caught by the butler.” Asami saw Korra’s eyes light up.

“I don’t even know which one I want to hear first.” She said.

“If you behave yourself I might tell both.” Asami said in a flirtatious voice, turning the whole mood upside down.

 

* * *

 

“The next day the whole village was looking for him, poking in the snow with sticks. Naga eventually found him sleeping next to his snow rider.” Korra said.

“You really have to be careful returning from the pub in the Water Tribes.” Asami gasped.

“Yeah, but my dad is the only one stupid enough to sleep in the snow.” Korra chuckled. She and Asami were sitting on the backseat of the Cadillac. They were driving to Korra’s apartment, but Asami had told the driver to take the long way. She was now half lying, cuddled up in Korra’s arms, hearing stories of the South.

“We’re here miss.” The chauffeur spoke. Korra had almost forgotten that he was there. The man really didn’t say much.

“Oh, thanks.” Asami said, sitting up right. Korra kept in a whine when she felt the warm body move out of her arms. “So, shall I walk you up to your apartment?” Asami asked, an hint of suggestion in her voice. Korra wanted to scream yes and carry Asami all the way up to her room, but instead she bit her lip. _Kai…_ “Uhm… I don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Asami said, mistaking Korra’s expression for doubt.

“Oh no, I would love you to walk with me, it just…” Korra sighed. “Ugh, I have a guest. He’s from work and needed a place to crash.”

“Owh.” Korra saw the disappointed look on Asami’s face. _How wrong would it be to leave Kai alone for just one night?_ Korra thought, making a plan in her head.

“I could come around your place. Then you can send the driver home and we can drink some coffee or something?”

“Are you inviting yourself into my house?” Asami asked with a sly smile.

“Uhm… if the answer is yes, than definitely.” Korra said back.

“To my house please.” Asami said to the driver.

“Yes, ma’am.” The man said, taking off again.

“You sure your guest will be okay?” Asami asked, settling back into Korra’s arms.

“I will text Mako to check up on him. He has my key so, it will be fine.” Korra had decided that she deserved a night off. Besides, who could blame her for wanting to prolong such a nice date.

“Good.” Asami mumbled, moving around a bit to find a better position in Korra’s embrace.

 

* * *

 

 

All that was left now was Korra’s scorching hot mouth and that delicious tongue. Asami didn’t know when exactly their desires started to soar, but she was desperately clinging to Korra with her good arm. She internally cursed the cast trapping her other arm, since she wanted both hands to explore everything that Korra had to offer.

A moan filled the elevator when Asami moved her mouth to Korra jaw, gently sucking.

“The.. e-elevator.” Korra said weakly. “Asami, we’re here.” Asami looked up, gathering her self-restraint to release Korra from her grip. The doors of the elevator were already open. She looked at Korra’s flushed face feeling the blood inside her own body boil.

 “Of course, right.” Asami straightened her clothes and walked up to the front door of the apartment. While she tried to calm her breath her good hand was going to her pocket for the keys, but midway her hand was snatched away. Korra twirled her around and those soft, swollen lips caught Asami again. Asami let herself be shoved against the front door.

“K-korra…” She moaned softly. “Keys.”

“Where?”

“Pockets.” Korra’s hand wandered from Asami’s midriff to her hips, to her pocket. “Other side.” Asami mentioned when she leaned forward for another kiss. Korra’s other hand moved and disappeared into Asami’s pockets, making the woman moan again. After some time, which Asami knew Korra was doing on purpose since her pockets weren’t that deep, Korra’s hand retreated with the keys. In a clumsy manner, Korra managed to open the door. After that Asami wasted no time to push Korra inside, retrieve her keys from the door and slam it shut again.

“Okay, we made it to the apartment. Can we handle the living room?” Asami asked with a grin.

“Can we ever!” Korra almost cheered. She duck a little and placed one arm around Asami’s knees, making her screech. In bridal style Korra walked up to the door of the living room. “Wow!” Korra exclaimed when she put Asami down again.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to say that?” Asami asked, still a little out of breath.

“No, I mean, you’re apartment. You’ve decorated it!” Korra walked into the living room as Asami flicked on a light. “I love those photographs! The last time I was here…” Korra stopped as the unpleasant memory entered her mind.

“It was a mess, just like me?” Asami finished her sentence. Instead of shame and sadness, her face showed amusement when she approached Korra again.

“Yeah, but I can see you both are doing better now.” Korra said, wrapping her arms around Asami’s waist, bringing her close. Asami nuzzled her face into Korra’s shoulder.

“If you still want to wait, we can watch a movie or something.” Asami heard Korra laugh at that question. “What? I’m just saying where my mind is going.”

“Oh really? And where might that be?” Korra asked with challenge in her voice.

“Hmmm, here.” Asami pecked Korra’s cheek. “And it might go here.” Asami placed a lingering kiss on Korra’s mouth, making the woman shiver. “Oh, and it definitely wants to go here.” With mischief in her eyes, Asami worked her good hand under Korra’s blouse, feeling goose bumps arise from soft skin.  

“You’re mind is really something.” Korra whispered in need as she turned Asami and led her to the sofa. She laid Asami down to straddle her.

“Korra, I meant it. If you think it’s still…” Asami’s worried voice was cut off by hungry lips.

The moan Asami gave brought Korra closer to the edge then she liked to admit. The feel of Asami’s tongue against hers made her movements desperate. Her hips started to involuntary move, grinding against that lovely body underneath her. Sure, Korra had her doubts of whether this wasn’t still going all too fast, but on the other side she had the feeling that she and Asami had been through a lot already. They both needed this and deep down Korra knew Asami wouldn’t betray her.

Asami felt her heart go into overdrive when Korra started to move on top of her. Now she really cursed her broken arm as it laid uselessly against the back of Korra. But Asami was determined to give Korra what she had wordlessly asked for.

Her good hand slowly descended as Asami never stopped kissing Korra back with vigor. Soon she felt the cold metal of Korra’s belt buckle against her fingertips. Expertly and without looking she loosened the belt, feeling her pulse go up a notch again as she started to undo Korra’s pants further.

“Uhmmm… Asami.” Korra hissed as she suddenly felt an hand creep into her pants. _How did she manage to do that?_  Her hips buckled as she felt fingers slip underneath her underwear and over her small bundle of nerves that was pounding with need.

“Let me take the edge off.” Asami whispered in Korra’s ear as her fingers descended further down. Asami gasped as she felt how far gone Korra really was. Asami slit her wet finger back, circling Korra’s clit. Korra started to move faster, moaning sweet nothings into Asami’s hair. Asami felt her own core clench at the sounds Korra made, but she ignored it.

“Asami… I…” Korra whimpered. Asami kept her movements steady, feeling Korra coming closer.

“That’s it, yes…” Asami moaned before she sucked through the fabric on Korra’s shoulder. _Next time the shirt has to go._ Asami thought in anticipation. Korra moved more desperately and Asami waited for what was to come.

“Asami! We need to… Oh my!” A third voice filled the room.

“What the hell!?” Asami’s head turned to the side where she saw Zhu Li standing in the door opening. Her unwanted guest blinked a couple of times.

“Sorry, I thought you were alone. Sorry.” Zhu Li turned and closed the door. In all the commotion Asami had retreated her hand and noticed that Korra laid flat down on her, not moving.

“Korra, are you okay?” Asami asked, rubbing her hand over Korra’s back.

“Please tell me that just didn’t happen.” Korra mumbled into Asami’s shoulder.

“I’m afraid it did.”

“I think I want to die now.” Asami would have almost laughed at that comment, wasn’t it for the fact that she was thoroughly frustrated herself.

“I’ll send her away and then we can continue.” Asami said full of determination. Korra started to move off of Asami. Her face was red from extortion and Asami felt bad for her.

“Asami, we really need to talk though!” Zhu Li yelled through the door.

“Not now! I’m busy!” Asami yelled back in anger. Korra blushed as she zipped her pants back up. Asami straightened her blouse and stood up. “I’m so sorry. This will only take a second.”

“Sure…” Korra said, still flustered from the whole situation. With angry steps Asami walked to the door, pulling it open.

“You’ve got to go.” She said, glaring at her friend.

“I can’t.” Zhu Li insisted. Asami rolled her eyes and walked back into the room.

“I’m on leave. You can’t just barge in here and…”

“Asami, it’s about your father.” Zhu Li said. Asami stopped her movements. She saw the questioning eyes of Korra.

“My father…” Asami turned back to Zhu Li.

“Yes, we need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading again! Not as much action as I hoped I would write, but my first try at some more serious smut, so that's something :P Hope to see you around for the next chapter!


	8. The Future Is Here

**The Future Is Here**

 

The clock ticked the seconds away as Asami could hear the sound of the shower running. She ran her hands through her hair.

“And how do you know all this?” She asked.

“It’s not official yet, but clients are leaving Future Industries. Remember that shift in contracts a while back? Apparently that was due to Future Industries as well.”

“But Future Industries is one of the most stable companies on earth!” Asami yelled, hoping that it would make more sense to her if she heard her own voice say it out loud.

“I think your father is sinking Future Industries on purpose.”

“That’s impossible.” Asami stood up and started pacing around the living room. Her father would never abandon his company like that. Future Industries made more profit every year, it grew and grew. Hiroshi had Raiko in his back pocket and with some good campaigning, Raiko would be reelected. Definitely if his competition consisted of people like Wu.

“Have you talked to him?” Zhu Li asked, sitting calmly at the table.

“Yes, he wanted to meet me just before my accident. I never made it.” Asami stood still, looking at her friend. “You want me to go talk to him to know if the rumors are true so Varrick can make a good investment.”

“Yes.”

Asami closed her eyes. Of course Zhu Li wasn’t concerned about her or her father’s company. Varrick had hired the only heir to Future Industries and wanted to use that card now. “

It’s a little bit more elaborated than that.”

“Oh, really? Care to share the plan?” Asami asked, opening her eyes again.

“If Hiroshi is sinking Future Industries, you might find a way back on the board.” Asami started to chuckle, interrupting her friend.

“Let me guess, so I can sell Future Industries to Varrick Global Industries.”

“Or a merger. Maybe a lucrative cooperation between the two.” Zhu Li added.

“Future Industries isn’t some company to me, it’s my life. Or at least it was my life until I stopped talking to my father. I can’t stab it in the back. You must realize that.”

“You already crossed over to us.”

“Temporally.”

“Okay, but it wouldn’t hurt for both of us for you to meet with your father for some information?” Zhu Li tried. She saw the news weighing down on Asami, but she needed to make this deal. Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. All she wanted to know was what was going on with her father. Why would he sink a company he spend most of his life creating?

“Fine, I’ll call his office.”

“Good, then I will hear from you. There is some time pressure here so…”

“I will speak to him!” Asami cut Zhu Li off.

“Good.” Zhu Li stood up, looked around and nodded. “She seems nice.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Asami sighed. Zhu Li nodded one more time and left, leaving Asami in a silent living room except from the soft sound of the running shower. With a grunt Asami grabbed her mobile phone. It didn’t take long for someone to pick up.

“Good evening, office of the CEO of Future Industries. Mr. Sato is unavailable at the moment. Can I take a message?”

“Yes, tell him that I will see him in his office around seven in the morning, tomorrow.”

“Uhm, sorry, I’m afraid Mr. Sato is very busy at the moment.” The woman on the other end of the line said in hesitation.

“I don’t care! Make sure he’ll get this message!” Asami’s patience was gone.

“A-and who is calling?”

“His daughter!” Asami hung up. She threw her phone on the table. What is going on with the world? However much she hated her father right now, standing by to see him go bankrupt was something else completely. After standing in silence for a couple of seconds, Asami noticed that the shower had stopped running. She walked towards her bedroom, that was adjoined to the bathroom.

“Korra?” Asami asked as she entered the room. Korra was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling a shirt she had borrowed from Asami over her head.

“Hi there.” She said, trying to smile although her eyes showed concern.

“Had a nice shower?”

“Yes, I did.” Asami smiled and sat next to Korra.

“Is your father okay?”

“What did you overhear?” Asami asked, not because she didn’t trust Korra, but she wanted to know to what extend she needed to explain all this.

“Something about contracts and you yelling that you’re someone’s daughter.”

“My father’s company is going bankrupt, at least that’s the word out on the street.” Asami sighed.

“Shit…”

“Yes, shit.”

“Are you… Can you help him?”

“I don’t know. I will see him tomorrow.”

“If I had some money to invest I would try to help you out.” Korra sighed, making Asami laugh.

“You’ve helped me out more than you could imagine. Besides, money isn’t the issue here.” Asami let herself fall on her back, now staring up the ceiling. She felt the mattress next to her shift and turned to her side to look at Korra lying next to her. Without any particular thought, Asami reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind Korra’s ear.

“What?” Korra asked when she saw a mysterious smile linger around Asami’s mouth.

“You make me happy. Does that sound weird?” Asami asked, a frown appearing on her forehead.

“No, you make me happy as well.” Korra chuckled.

“Really? With all the trouble I have put you through already?”

“Yes, although I wish you hadn’t given your key to so many people.” Korra sighed.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Asami turned on her back. “You can stay over tonight, even though I’m not really in the mood to… you know, continue?” Korra heard uncertainty in Asami’s voice.

“I would love to stay. I’m already wearing your t-shirt.” Asami turned back, smiling at the other woman. Korra could swear she saw a blush slowly retreating from Asami’s face.

 

* * *

 

 

“Good morning Republic City! That was the new single from the Wolf Bats. Aren’t they the energetic band! Bringing a whole new meaning to the term guitar hero. Anyway, Jon Cooper is up next with the weather report.” Korra groaned when an unfamiliar voice started to talk out of nowhere. It didn’t take her long to figure out that it came from the radio next to her head on the nightstand. Automatically her hand shot up to punch the offending thing to silence. When the snooze button was hit after three attempts, Korra started to notice that she wasn’t in her own bed.

“Hmphm…” Someone mumbled against Korra’s shoulder. When Korra turned her head she saw Asami or rather a ball of black hair attached to a body. Asami had kicked her blanket to the ground and laid rolled up against Korra’s side. Her good hand had a firm grip on Korra’s t-shirt. The engineer didn’t look like waking up anytime soon.

“Asami…” Korra whispered.

“Hmmm…” Asami rolled up closer in herself.

“I’m pretty sure you need to rise and shine.” Korra whispered, now running a hand over the black hair, revealing a sleeping face.

“No… I hate spiders.” Asami mumbled, making Korra laugh.

“Good to know, but there are no spiders here right now.”

“No…” Korra rolled her eyes, making a mental note that Asami was as stubborn as herself as it came to waking up.

“Come on.” Korra said a little louder. She wanted to sit up, but the hand holding her t-shirt tightened, pulling Korra back down. Korra laid her hand on Asami’s, loosening its grip. _God, she’s adorable._ Korra thought as she saw Asami cringe a little, fighting against her wakening awareness. She couldn’t find the courage anymore to wake Asami. Korra ran her fingers carefully over Asami’s cheek, mesmerized by the peaceful look on her face.

“Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt.” Korra shot up, eliciting another grunt from Asami, but this time her hand couldn’t keep Korra down. With some frantic movements Korra looked for her phone, finding it on the ground next to the bed.

“Hello?” Korra said, picking up her phone. Asami turned her back to her guest, slowly regaining consciousness.

“What do you mean he’s gone!?” The way Korra raised her voice caught Asami’s attention as she slowly turned back to Korra. She saw the other woman sitting on the edge of the bed, hanging up on whoever had called her.

“Everything okay?” Asami asked, wiping some sleep from her eyes. Korra turned and a smile broke out on her face when their eyes met.

“Good morning.”

“Morning…” Asami greeted back. _Wow, this almost feels real._ Asami thought as she pushed herself up, not breaking eye-contact with Korra.

“I need to head back to my place. My guest… Apparently he left early.”

“Oh, okay. I need to go see my dad anyway.”

“Okay…” Korra looked down at her hands as a weird silence followed. She felt Asami moving towards her and soon two arms were flung around Korra’s waist as soft lips kissed her gently underneath her ear.

“Good morning.” Asami whispered, sending shivers down Korra’s spine. “Thought I do it properly now.”

“I’m glad you did.” Korra whispered back as she leaned into Asami’s embrace.

“Promise me that I will see you again soon.” Asami whispered again before placing a quick kiss on Korra’s cheek.

“How can I stay away?”

 

* * *

 

 

The hall felt familiar, even though the wallpaper was different. Asami remembered how she once called this place a second home. Seeing herself spent nights here, making impossible deals. Now all Asami could think of was her father and how this all could be ruined.

“Miss Sato?” a pale woman behind the desk in front of Hiroshi’s office informed. She looked tired and stressed.

“Yes, is my father in?” Asami tried to sound friendly, since this woman wasn’t responsible for any of the bad things Asami was feeling right now, but she couldn’t suppress her anger.

“Yes he is.” Without saying another word, Asami continued her way through the door. The office was messy to say the least. Drawers of desks and cupboards were open, spilling what was left of their contents. If Asami didn’t know better she would say that the place had been ransacked.

“Dad?” Asami called out.

“Yes, I’m here!” a figure stood up from behind the desk. Hiroshi looked worn out. He had a wild beard and his shirt was wrinkled. He carried several documents in his arms, which he dumped into a briefcase lying open on the desk.

“Are you going somewhere?” Asami asked as she walked further into the room. There was a faint smell of cigars and liquor hanging around Hiroshi.

“Yes, so let’s make this brief.” Hiroshi closed the briefcase before laying eyes on his daughter. “What happened to your arm?”

“I had a little accident.” Asami mumbled, subconsciously touching the cast around her arm. “Are the rumors true?”

“News travels fast. It wasn’t supposed to come out till around this afternoon.” Hiroshi dryly chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice.

“So your abandoning Future Industries?”

“Yes, it’s done.”

“How could you!? This is your life’s work!” Asami yelled. Somehow it was even more surreal now she heard her father admit it.

“How could I!? What is the point Asami? My only heir left my company to work for the competition.”

“No, don’t point the finger to me. You gave me no choice.”

“Well, aren’t you happy now it finally turned out that you were right all along!?” Hiroshi yelled back. There was a mix of desperation and madness in his eyes. Asami hadn’t seen it before, but her father had really changed over the years.

“Dad, if this is about…”

“Here!” Hiroshi slammed a folder with papers on the desk. “Sign that and Future Industries will be yours.” He locked the briefcase he had with him and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair.

“Dad, wait! Whatever this is, we can work it out.” Asami tried to stop him, but he pushed Asami to the side.

“Goodbye Sami.” Asami’s heart broke when she heard her father use her nickname, followed by the closing door.

With a couple of strong inhales Asami stabilized her emotions as she strolled over to the desk. Slowly she let herself sink into her father’s chair. The folder with the contract laid in front of her. She let her eyes roam around the chaos in the office. With a trembling hand she opened a drawer of the desk. When she saw a half empty bottle she started to laugh. After a few giggles, the laughter turned into heavy sobs as she let her head hang in her hands.

 

* * *

 

 

“Guys!?” Korra yelled as she entered her apartment. Naga immediately ran up to her and Mako appeared in the door opening.

“I’m here, what happened?” Korra asked with labored voice. She had ran to her apartment as soon as she had said a proper goodbye to Asami.

“Nothing. Like literally nothing.” Mako answered, leading the way to the living room. “Everything is the same, only almost all your food is gone.”

“Really? Wow, he can eat.” Korra said contemplative. When she entered the living room, she saw Bolin sitting on the couch.

“Hi Kor.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the university?”

“Nah, exams are over, so I can help you out with this mystery.” Bolin said, jumping up, ready for action.

“It’s no mystery. Kai left.” Korra sighed. “We have to find him though, before he gets into trouble.”

“I already called Opal. She will be here any minute.” Mako said. Bolin perked up at the mention of Opal, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Alright, but let’s keep it quiet. Iroh doesn’t know about Kai.” Korra made sure. The last thing she needed was a fight with her superior.

“Why did you brought him here in the first place?” Mako asked.

“Because someone has to do something! I can’t let him live on the street like that.”

“Korra, seriously, you don’t have to…”

“Are you going to help or complain!? If you’re not on my side then leave.” Korra shouted. She started to get worried. Kai was out there somewhere, while the Triads must know by now that he had talked to a cop.

Mako grunted and rolled his eyes at Korra’s statement. “We have an hour to find him before we need to be at the office.”

“Hello?” Opal said as she walked into the living room. “Oh hello. You should really lock your door.”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s go and find him!” Korra immediately stormed out of the door.

“Korra, wait for us!” Mako yelled after her without result. He sighed. “Thanks for coming Opal. We better go after her before we are unable to find her.”

“Yes, Mission-Lost-Boy is a go!” Bolin yelled, sprinting out of the apartment. Opal laughed as she and Mako followed calmly.

 

* * *

 

 

“Maybe the Triads aren’t that interested in him.” Mako mumbled, driving around the same block again. Korra didn’t answer, she just stared out of the window, not even looking anymore. After half an hour they’ve split up. Mako and Korra had taken a car from work to continue their search for Kai. Opal was back at the office, informing Iroh about the situation. Bolin had to go to work, filling in for someone.

“Maybe some music?” Mako asked, anticipating that Korra wouldn’t answer. He clicked on the radio, skipping through channels till funk music spilled out of the speakers. All the while Korra kept staring outside. She let Kai go. It was her fault. She knew her friends would say that there was nothing she could do, but she was the one that left him in her apartment alone. She was the one who put the boy in danger by convincing him to help her. If anything bad happened to him, Korra knew she was at fault.

“Hey, you just tried to help okay.” This time the words of Mako entered Korra’s head as she turned towards him. It was like he had read her mind, although Korra was usually not hard to read.

“I always try to help and I always fuck it up.” She said softly.

“That’s not true. There are a lot of people out there that own their lives to you.” Mako answered as he made another turn. Korra returned her gaze back to the pavement outside. She knew she saved lives, but it were always the lives she couldn’t safe that were on her mind.

“Welcome to the news report of nine o’clock.” Mako turned up the volume out of habit. He always listened to the news. “President Raiko wants to invest more money into infrastructure, planning to put an halt to the traffic jams. Opposition is calling it an empty promise, made to win votes. Other news today. Future’s Industries CEO is stepping down. Hiroshi Sato, who changed the way we look at cars today, is going on an early retirement. Rumors of his daughter taking over the biggest company in Republic City and a strong player on the international market, still have to be confirmed. There are, however, no other candidates for the job. Miss Sato, who has always avoided the press, didn’t want to comment on the takeover this morning.”

“What’s wrong?” Korra asked as Mako stopped the car on the side of the road.

“Shhh.” He hissed as he turned up the radio further.

“All she had to say was: ‘It was an hard decision for my father to leave his life’s work. We thank him for all his effort to make Future Industries what it is today. In this week my father and I will decide what will happen to the company. Up till then we cannot say anything about the new CEO or the future of the company.’ The employees of Future Industries are worried. They didn’t foresee Mr. Sato’s leave and fear for their jobs. If Future Industries goes bankrupt, thousands of people will lose their jobs and it might even effect Republic City’s economy. It seems the future of industry lays in the hands of the only and mysterious heir of Mr. Sato.”

“Shit…” Mako whispered.

“That will change the stock market.” Korra said, not really invested in the story. Mako turned to face Korra. He looked at her as if she was losing her mind.

“What?” Korra asked as he kept staring at her.

“What do you know about Future Industries?” He asked, making Korra frown.

“It’s big. Why?” Korra saw Mako hesitate as he formed his next sentences.

“She hasn’t told you?” He asked, staring at Korra, making her nervous.

“Who hasn’t told me what?” Korra started to get agitated. Why was Mako acting weird? Companies come and go. What was it to her that Hiroshi was retiring early. That man had to be the richest guy in the city. If Korra had that kind of money she would retire as well.

“Asami… Her last name is not Qadira.” Mako spoke calmly and clear, as if he only wanted to tell this once.

“W-what?” Korra asked, feeling her mind work overtime, but she was somehow unable to process what Mako was about to tell her.

“Her name is Asami Sato.” He continued, seeing how Korra was putting the pieces together. “As in Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato.” Korra still stared at him in bewilderment. “As in, the only heir of Hiroshi Sato. As in new CEO of Future Industries.” Korra turned away from Mako.

“Oh my God.” She mumbled. She had seen Asami this morning, had held Asami in her arms. They were as close as two people could be. And now, a couple of hours later, Korra had never felt more separated.

 

* * *

 

 

“That’s it?” Asami asked, signing one last document.

“Yes, your father had made all the arrangements already. He is a very thorough man.” One of her lawyers said. The other lawyers around the tables nodded.

“Congratulations Miss Sato. Or shall I say CEO of Future Industries.” The man stood and offered Asami his hand to shake. She took it reluctantly and without any trace of excitement or happiness. The lawyer looked uneasy as he turned towards his colleagues. One of the other lawyers raised her shoulders as if to say that she also didn’t know what was going on.

“Sorry. I’m not in a party mood.” Asami excused herself as she read the atmosphere in the room.

“That’s okay Miss Sato. If it’s any consolation, I think you will do a great job.” The lawyer said with a friendly smile. Asami knew it was an empty comment, but she nodded and returned the smile anyway. No need to let the lawyers into her family drama.

“Thank you and thank you all for your swift work.” Asami said as she stood to see the lawyers out. When she closed the door behind her guests she sighed. The conference room looked cold and hostile. In just two hours she went from shock to owner of one of the biggest companies in the world. She had dreamt about this moment, the moment her father will give her Future Industries. But in her dream she was older and her father was with her, signing the papers together. Now it was a sad event, filled with hatred and pain.

“Asami Sato.” A crackling voice came through the intercom. Asami walked back into the room and pushed the little button on the intercom.

“Yes?”

“There’s someone here to see you. No press.” Her father’s assistant spoke. _Now she’s mine assistant._ Asami thought dully.

“I’m in the conference room.” Asami gave her permission, figuring that she would meet people nonstop now.

“I will send her in.” The assistant said. Asami made a mental note to remember her assistant’s name and give her a raise. She must have been here the whole night, but not once she let shine through what she thought about this takeover. She was professional and didn’t ask questions. Asami could appreciate that kind of behavior right now.

Without knocking Asami heard the door open. She looked up annoyed, not feeling like dealing with rude people. But when she saw familiar blue eyes, her heart stopped for a beat.

“Korra.” She mumbled. In all the turmoil of the morning she hadn’t even thought about her new lover.

“So it’s true.” Korra stated as she closed the door behind her. Asami walked over to her, but stopped when she couldn’t read Korra’s expression. Was this too much for Korra? Was this the point on which Korra couldn’t take any more surprises?

“How did you…”

“I heard it on the radio. Mako told me the rest.” Korra answered calmly. Asami nodded.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you, but this morning I still didn’t want to be associated with my father. If I knew I had to take over Future Industries like this, I would have explained the whole situation to you.”Asami apologized, almost begging for Korra to forgive her another mistake.

“What happened?” Korra asked as she looked around the empty and impersonal conference room.

“My father decided to leave. I don’t know why yet.” Asami answered, promising herself that she wouldn’t lie to Korra anymore, even though a voice in her head told her that that was an hard promise to keep.

“So… I’m sorry. I have an hard time wrapping my mind around this.” Korra said, walking around the table in the middle of the room to take place on one of the chairs. Asami followed her, sitting next to her.

“So you left your father’s company to work for Varrick?”

“Yes.” Asami confirmed.

“And you changed your name?” Asami nodded.

“Why?” was all Korra could ask further.

“My father raised me to take over Future Industries one day. Thanks to him I invented the electrical motor and became known as an engineer. I had to leave Future Industries because…” Asami paused, finding the words. “My father ran his business in a way I couldn’t agree to. In that time I was under a lot of personal stress. I had my breakup with Mako. My mother tried to contact me. I was a mess.” Asami summed up yet another difficult time in her life. “I needed a change. My life as Asami Sato suffocated me. Varrick offered me a job and the privacy I needed to become someone else, inside the legal boundaries of course. I took that opportunity and cut everyone I knew out of my life. The first year I worked for Varrick Global Industries, I worked from abroad. Only later I moved back to Republic City, to continue my work here. And now… Now here we are.” Asami kept looking at Korra, who just nodded and squinted her eyes a little bit. Asami sounded honest, although Korra had a feeling that she just scratched the surface of this story. Maybe that was enough for now.

“I’m sorry you have to go through all this.” Korra said with genuine love. To her surprise Asami sighed and started to laugh. “What?”

“I’m s-sorry. I just thought… I was thinking you were going to yell at me and storm out the door.” Asami voiced her fears.

“Heh, as CEO of Future Industries you must be the most wanted single in the city. It would be foolish to run out the door.” Korra joked. Asami moved forward, clasping one hand behind Korra’s neck to bring her face closer to her own.

“Not really single.” Asami whispered as she softly kissed Korra, enjoying their closeness to the fullest. It was the moment Asami decided that Korra was going to be a part of her life she wouldn’t mess up. A part she wouldn’t complicate any further like she did with all the other parts of her life.

“I should probably let you work.” Korra sighed after the kiss. “You must be crazy busy.”

“Yes, I have to go through all the records to find the reason why my father left. Call investors and clients to reassure them of their business. Talk to the employees and the press.” Asami summed up, feeling already overworked.

“So… when will I see you again?” Korra knew it was selfish to demand time from Asami at this point in her life, but not seeing her was a thought she couldn’t stand. To her surprise and relief Asami smiled at her.

“You may buy me pizza sometime soon.” Korra snorted at Asami’s answer as she stood up to leave Asami to it.

“I’m a lucky girl.” She said, challenging Asami’s somewhat arrogant proposal.

“Okay, I will buy the garlic bread.” Asami laughed from her place at the table.

“I will call you later today and… don’t overdo it. Take good care of yourself.” Korra said opening the door.

“I will try.” Asami reassured her. Korra nodded before she slipped out the door. Asami sighed. _Maybe this day isn’t that bad. It could be good. This could be really good._ Asami thought as she prepared for the many tasks ahead of her.

 

* * *

 

 

Her footsteps echoed through the hallway. A couple of stairs more and Korra finally would be home. It was already way past her bedtime and she was dead tired. She had an horrendous day at the office. Iroh wasn’t pleased that Korra had contacted Kai outside the investigation and now lost him to the streets. Of course the boy was nowhere to be found and Iroh had repeated a couple of times how irresponsible Korra had acted.

After piles of paperwork Korra had picked Asami up on her promise and bought pizza to eat at the Future Industries Tower. Asami had showed her some amazing places in the iconic building which had given Republic City its unique skyline. After that they had dinner at the top office with the city on displace through the windows.

Dinner was nice and after a long and heated make out session Korra had an hard time to stay awake. Asami had laughed and told her she looked like the puppy that nodded off to sleep she once saw on YouTube. They decided to call it a night and Asami had escorted her to the exit of the building. After their goodbyes Korra was sure that Asami was going to work the rest of the night, which worried her a bit. But she was too tired to say something about it.

With a groan Korra opened the door to her apartment. When she stepped inside she expected Naga to greet her with her usual enthusiasm, but the hall stayed silent.

“Naga!” Korra called. Maybe she’s asleep. Korra went into her dark living room, hearing a growl from the windowsill.

“Naga?” Korra asked in a quiet voice as if she didn’t want to interrupt her dog in whatever she was doing. Slowly she walked up behind her pet, peaking through the curtains. The streets were dark and one lamppost was broke, which casted a shade, making it hard to see what was happening outside. But Naga was clearly upset about something.

“What are you seeing girl?” Korra whispered as she kneeled besides Naga, patting her head. She kept looking through the window. After a few seconds she saw a shadow move. Korra held her breath as if the shadow could hear her. She ducked closer to the floor, while her eyes stayed fixed on the shadow. Slowly a man stepped to the side, coming into view in the light of one of the working lampposts.

He was far away, but Korra could see that this man was tall and broad shouldered, not someone you want to fight with. He stood there a while, staring somewhat up. Korra couldn’t be sure however since he wore a hat, covering most of his face. After a while he turned and walked away. Naga growled one last time before her body relaxed again.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Korra mumbled as she stroked Naga’s fur. A shiver crawled up her spine as she couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was watching her apartment.

“A very bad feeling…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this, but here is the new chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! And sorry for the long wait, the next chapter won't take a year :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Tips and comments are always welcome, it helps me become a better writer :)


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